A Palestinian worker died on Monday when a tunnel collapsed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, a health official said.A Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Ma’an News Agency that Muhammad Khalid al-Najjar, 27, was killed in the incident.
His body was taken to Abu Youssef al-Najjar hospital.
Last week, Ahmad Majed Salim al-Saqqa, 19, from Khan Younis died after he was electrocuted in a tunnel beneath Rafah, while another Palestinian frage om Khan Younis, Ibrahim Fathi Esleih, 21, died a week before in similar circumstances.
The tunnels are notoriously dangerous, and workers are frequently killed working inside them.
The Institute for Palestine Studies reported in 2012 that Hamas authorities had counted 160 deaths inside the tunnels since the Israeli blockade began.
Border tunnels that pass beneath the Egyptian border have served as a lifeline to the outside world for Gaza’s 1.8 million inhabitants since Israel imposed a crippling siege on the coastal enclave in 2007, which is supported by the Egyptian establishment.
While the tunnels are used by Hamas as a source of tax revenue and inflow of weapons, they also supply highly-demanded necessities for Gazans including food, medicine, as well as infrastructure materials including concrete and fuel.
Search IMEMC: ‘tunnels’
