Egypt security forces discover longest Gaza tunnel

Authorities discover 2.5 kilometer smuggling passage along with communication equipment, detonators

By ASHRAF SWEILLAM 15 February 2015, 9:35 pm 4

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Egyptian army personnel supervise the destruction of tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip at the border, near the town of Rafah, northern Sinai, Egypt, September 2013. (photo credit: AP/AP Television)

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian security officials said they found a 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) smuggling tunnel leading into the Gaza Strip, the longest such passageway discovered in their crackdown on cross-border smuggling.

They say the tunnel was operated by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which Egypt says is a terrorist organization that played a role in recent attacks against Egyptian security forces.

Detonators and communications devices were among the devices found in the tunnel, which will be destroyed, officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to brief reporters.

After a major attack in October, the Egyptian military began clearing a buffer zone along the border with Gaza in an attempt to stamp out a cross-border network of tunnels that Hamas considers a lifeline.