The news Wednesday that Israeli warplanes bombed Palestinian supply tunnels running into the Gaza Strip again is more than a predictable hiccup in Israel\u2019s self-declared cease-fire. A Palestinian bomb had killed an Israeli soldier on Tuesday. Israel responded with airstrikes the same day, and followed up Wednesday with air attacks on tunnels in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border. There were no reported casualties, but residents fled their homes in panic.<\/p>\n
The raid underlines – if any underlining was needed – that any lasting truce is going to hinge on the question of what is allowed into Gaza and how.<\/p>\n
Since Israel stopped allowing much except humanitarian supplies into Gaza two years ago, in a bid to undermine the strip\u2019s Hamas rulers, Gazans have depended on a warren of tunnels from Egypt for everything from AK-47s to cheese. If they couldn\u2019t get even legit stuff in through the Israeli-controlled border points, Gaza\u2019s merchants have been bringing it in underground. And Hamas\u2019s rocket builders have been bringing their weapons in that way, too.<\/p>\n