Hidden tunnels into Gaza found

2008-01-06 11:55

Cairo - Egyptian authorities on Saturday discovered five underground tunnels used to smuggle arms and contraband into the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian security source said.

The hidden tunnels, located close to the Rafah crossing, were exposed after heavy rain caused the ground to subside. Security officials were deployed in the area and were due to destroy the tunnels, the source said.

Egypt frequently announces the discovery of arms caches in the Sinai Peninsula as well as tunnels used by the militants.

However, Israel has frequently complained that Egypt is failing to do enough to stem the flow of arms into the Gaza Strip, which has been controlled by Islamist group Hamas since June 2007.

Cairo says monitoring the porous border with Gaza is made difficult by the peace treaty it signed with Israel in 1979 which bars it from deploying more troops to the area. It has asked to renegotiate the treaty.

- SAPA