A Palestinian was killed and three others critically injured when a tunnel between the northern besieged Gaza Strip and Israel collapsed on Thursday afternoon.
Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman, Ashraf al-Qidra, identified the deceased Palestinian as Ahmad Asaad Mayt, 30, saying that he died in a tunnel located near the town of Beit Hanoun.
A number of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the vast tunnel networks that lie below the besieged enclave.
Gaza Tunnel Collapse Leaves 4 Casualties https://t.co/sg1UMHPq1f pic.twitter.com/vkPqWU5Mel
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In April and May, Israeli forces claimed to have uncovered the first two tunnels crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel since Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza in 2014.
While the tunnels are used by Hamas as a source of tax revenue and inflow of weapons from the south, they also supply highly-demanded necessities for Gazans who have been trapped under Israeli siege for a decade, including food, medicine, and much-needed material for rebuilding the area’s infrastructure.
The Institute for Palestine Studies reported in 2012 that Hamas authorities had counted 160 deaths inside the tunnels since the Israeli blockade began in 2007, and in August 2014, Al-Jazeera reported the figure to be as high as 400.
(MA’AN, PC)
