Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels 2007. When Hamas seized power in 2007, Egypt and Israel closed borders with Gaza. In 2009, Egypt began the construction of an underground barrier to block existing tunnels and make new ones harder to dig. In 2011, Egypt relaxed restrictions at its border with the Gaza Strip, allowing Palestinians to cross freely. In 2013–2014, Egypt's military has destroyed most of the 1,200 smuggling tunnels which were used to smuggle food, weapons and other goods into Gaza. The smuggling tunnels in the Gaza Strip are tunnels connecting both sides of the Gaza–Egypt border, used to bypass the Rafah Border Crossing, which
Governorates of the Gaza Strip Governorates of the Gaza Strip The Governorates of the Gaza Strip are 5 administrative districts, ruled since 2007 by the Hamas Government in Gaza. After the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip were divided into three areas (Area A, Area B, and Area C) and 16 governorates under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, enlarging the administered Palestinian territories in that region. In 2007, following the War of Brothers in the Gaza Strip between Fatah and Hamas, the later took