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4 Palestinians killed in two Gaza smuggling tunnels

25 September 2011 01:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Four local workers were killed and nine others wounded Saturday in two separate incidents in smuggling tunnels underneath the borderline between Gaza Strip and Egypt, medics said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Two local workers were killed and seven others wounded after a gas balloon suddenly exploded in a smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, according to medics at the town ’s hospital.

In a separate incident, two workers were killed and two others were moderately wounded in a tunnel cave-in also under the borderline between the enclave and Egypt.

After Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip when Hamas seized control of the enclave by force in June 2007, the Palestinians dug hundreds of tunnels under the borders with Egypt to defy the siege.

According to local Gaza-based right groups, around 160 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded, most of them were killed in tunnel cave-in or electrical shocks.

The tunnel business in the Gaza Strip declined as Israel relaxed the blockade last year following severe international criticism over deadly raids on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, during which nine activists were killed.