On the right and bottom of the picture is Egyptian territory. In the background are parts of Rafah city and the refugee camp. The tall buildings on the skyline are in Khan Younis.

Philadelphi Road: The band of land between southern Gaza and Egypt is known as the Philadelphi Road. Under the provisions of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty of 1978, the road is controlled and patrolled by Israeli forces.

Approaching Rafah: This is the view from an Israeli armoured personnel carrier as it approaches Rafah. The vehicle is carrying a unit of five specialist soldiers who detect tunnels running under the Philadelphi Road and destroy them.

Under fire: Operating in Gaza is extremely dangerous for Israeli troops. They come under fire from Palestinian gunmen, and in the last few days more than 10 soldiers have died when their armoured vehicles were hit by explosive devices. Attacks on armoured vehicles are often so devastating because they are themselves carrying large amounts of explosive used in tunnel demolitions.

Questioning: Intelligence gathering is the main method for locating the tunnels. In some cases soldiers drill down along the Philadelphi Road until they hit a tunnel before they trace it to its source. Here the soldiers are questioning a Palestinian man and woman in Rafah refugee camp about the tunnels. The photographer says the questioning is not aggressive and he saw no violence being used, but the Palestinians are very frightened for themselves and for their home.

House to house: Once outside their vehicle and moving from house to house, the soldiers try to spend as little time outside as possible. Often they will break through walls to make their way from one house to an adjoining one.

Tunnel discovered: Here a well-established tunnel is discovered. The tunnels can be years old. Originally they would probably have been used by organised criminals to smuggle drugs and other contraband, as well as arms. The Palestinians with a tunnel entrance in their home are not necessarily militants or criminals. They may have come under pressure to allow the building of a tunnel. In the current situation, the tunnels are believed to be the main arms supply route for Palestinian militant groups.

Destroying tunnels: Up to one tonne of explosive material can be needed to destroy a tunnel, leaving it entirely unsalvageable. A tunnel can be up to 15 metres underground and run for 250 metres. The soldier in the photograph, Captain Aviv Hakani, was killed on 12 May 2004 when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in was blown up.

Tunnel mechanics: In this picture beside Captain Hakani you can see the blue plastic can used to transport arms and contraband through the tunnel. The can is pulled along using a motor at either end of the tunnel. The wires at the top of the tunnel are for an intercom system used along the tunnel. The black tube is an air pipe.

Resting: An operation to destroy a single tunnel can last 24 hours or more. Here the soldiers are resting in a Palestinian home whose residents have fled.

Bird cages: The tunnel, the home containing the tunnel and surrounding houses will be destroyed. Here the soldiers are releasing birds that have been abandoned by the condemned house's residents.

Bulldozer: The bulldozer has been called in to destroy surrounding houses. A warning that the tunnel is about to be destroyed is given through loud hailers.

Escaping: This picture was taken from inside the Israeli armoured personnel carrier. The explosion that destroyed the tunnel was immensely powerful. It shook the vehicle. Immediately after the explosion, Palestinians from nearby houses who had not heard the loud hailer warning flee the area.