The day Israel launched its 22-day offensive on Gaza a year ago, Osama and his family lost most of their $70,000 life savings. The Gaza accountant had put his money into a local investment scheme that initially produced excellent returns, which Osama understood came from trade through the smuggling tunnels from Egypt to the blockaded Gaza Strip. But when the violence broke out, including air raids targeting the tunnels, he rushed to recover his savings, only to discover hundreds of others doing the same and that the scheme's brokers had vanished.
