Steel Wall Being Built By Egypt on Gaza Border

It is unbelievable, but there are hundreds of tunnels and holes on the border of Egypt and the Gaza strip. These are used for smuggling goods and everyday essentials by the Palestinians, due to the blockade in force. But the more worrying fact is that Israel also complains that these tunnels are also being used to smuggle humans, weapons, and rocket parts that are used to fire at Israel's southern towns.

So now, Egypt, along with the help of US army engineers, is building a steel wall along the border to plug these tunnels and holes. This wall will be around 7 miles in length and at least 18 meters below the surface of the ground. It is being made of super-strength steel, and it is bomb proof, and cannot even be cut into or melted. It will take around a year and a half to complete, and it is believed that work has already started on the northern part, while the southern part will be done after that.

It is believed that the wall is impenetrable, and has been specially designed in the United States. Nothing has been officially announced, and obviously the whole operation is being done in secrecy. Over the last few weeks, locals noticed increased activity along the border. Trees were being cut down, and other related groundwork was being carried out to facilitate the construction and laying of the steel wall. Egypt believes that this wall will not be able to stop the smuggling by 100%, but it will cut off all the tunnels and holes closer to the surface, the tunnels in which maximum smuggling is carried out. A few deeper tunnels might still be operational, but they are very difficult to use, and hence, smuggling activities will be down considerably. Now, it's left to be seen how this works in reality, and if the smugglers are able to find other ways to continue with their activities.