An Egyptian security source reported on Thursday that Egyptian border
guards uncovered a tunnel linking to Rafah city, in the southern part
of the Gaza Strip. The tunnel allegedly was used for smuggling
Palestinian residents and arms from the Gaza Strip into the Sinai
Peninsula, Israeli online daily Haaretz reported.
The one-meter wide tunnel was reportedly found on Wednesday under the kitchen floor in a house which is only 10 meters away from the border crossing.
The Egyptian official was talking on condition of anonymity since he was not allowed to talk to the press, Haaretz added.
Also, the official added that the owner of the house was taken prisoner, and his family members were forced to leave the house as the soldiers sealed the area and initiated searches for additional tunnels.
The tunnel was dug in the 1990s, the official said, Egypt was coordinating with the Palestinian Authority in order to close the Palestinian end.
