Egypt destroys tunnels on Gaza Strip

The Egyptian government has begun sealing a series of smugglers’ tunnels between its border and the Gaza Strip, witnesses and security officials said Sunday, in an apparent attempt to increase security after a violent cross-border incident with Israel set off the worst diplomatic conflict between the countries since the Camp David Accords, reports the Washington Post.

The area around the town of Rafah is rife with smuggling, as hundreds of tunnels ferry construction materials, consumer goods and weapons into Gaza to bypass the Israeli blockade. Israel contends the tunnels also facilitate attacks by militants.

The Egyptian military “brought their stones and their concrete,” using large equipment to destroy tunnels, in some cases filling them with concrete and gravel, said Fathy al-Nahas, 40, a contractor who owns a small tunnel near the border with Gaza, in a telephone interview Sunday. He said that he used his tunnel — which he said was too narrow to fit a person — to send building supplies into Gaza, the source tells.

The action was a sign that Egypt remained too close to Israel, he said. “The government won’t upset Israel or America.”