Egyptian troops discover another underground tunnel into Gaza
Security officials confirm uncovering yet another smuggling tunnel dug several meters away from border with Gaza, say route likely used to transport arms
The official says the tunnel appears to have been used to smuggle weapons and contraband between Egypt and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. It was detected early Wednesday.
Egypt has been grappling with the issue of border security for months, promising to curb the illegal trade amid rising pressure from the US and Israel.
But recent reports confirm that dozens of passageways have resumed operations after the re-closing of the Rafah crossing, following the Hamas-engineered border breach in January.
Cairo saves trapped Palestinian smuggler
Meanwhile earlier this week, Egyptian security authorities recovered a Palestinian man who had fallen into a coma after being trapped for several hours inside a tunnel he was digging to smuggle goods between Egypt and Gaza.
Imad Kharboush, head of the northern Sinai emergency unit, said Palestinian Abdul-Rahman Attiya
Shalloub, 24, was in a deep coma and had been rushed to surgery at the El-Arish general hospital. His condition remains very critical.
Earlier, an Egyptian security official said the tunnel collapsed and the man was killed while a Palestinian official said the man was simply overcome with fumes from the gasoline he was smuggling overnight. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
