Hamas member killed in new tunnel collapse
A member of Hamas was killed when a tunnel collapsed in Gaza, the eleventh Gazan killed in such an incident in the last two weeks.
2 min read
The death toll of tunnel workers in Gaza is increasing [Getty]
A Hamas operative was killed on Tuesday when a tunnel collapsed in the Gaza Strip, the group said, in the fourth such incident over the past few weeks.
The death brings to 11 the number of Gazans killed in four separate collapses since January 26.
Israel's military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday that destroying tunnels in Gaza were now the army's main priority.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said in a statement that Marwan Maarouf, 27, from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, died "after the collapse of a resistance tunnel".
Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, said his body had been taken to Khan Yunis hospital.
Ten other Palestinians have died in three tunnel collapses in the past two weeks, nine of them members of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
During previous conflicts with Israel, Hamas forces have used the tunnels to avoid or carry out attacks, store weapons and at times to enter Israel.
The tunnels have also been a vital source of income and goods.
Hamas controls Gaza but an Israeli blockade severely restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory, and Egypt's sole border with Gaza has also remained largely closed since 2013.
In late 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it says are used for smuggling weapons and other items.
In September 2015, Egyptian forces carried out digging work that led to the flooding of the last remaining tunnels there.
On Saturday Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the tunnels were flooded by Egypt at Israel's request. His office later said the remarks were misinterpreted.
The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has also claimed that the flooding of the tunnels had been "his idea".
The death brings to 11 the number of Gazans killed in four separate collapses since January 26.
Israel's military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said Tuesday that destroying tunnels in Gaza were now the army's main priority.
The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, said in a statement that Marwan Maarouf, 27, from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, died "after the collapse of a resistance tunnel".
Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, said his body had been taken to Khan Yunis hospital.
Ten other Palestinians have died in three tunnel collapses in the past two weeks, nine of them members of the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades.
During previous conflicts with Israel, Hamas forces have used the tunnels to avoid or carry out attacks, store weapons and at times to enter Israel.
The tunnels have also been a vital source of income and goods.
Hamas controls Gaza but an Israeli blockade severely restricts the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory, and Egypt's sole border with Gaza has also remained largely closed since 2013.
In late 2014, Egypt began setting up a buffer zone on its border with Gaza, and destroyed hundreds of tunnels it says are used for smuggling weapons and other items.
In September 2015, Egyptian forces carried out digging work that led to the flooding of the last remaining tunnels there.
On Saturday Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the tunnels were flooded by Egypt at Israel's request. His office later said the remarks were misinterpreted.
The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has also claimed that the flooding of the tunnels had been "his idea".
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