Hamas blames Egypt for deaths of 3 from toxic gas in Gaza tunnel
Five others injured in digging accident on Rafah border while attempting to fix a shaft destroyed by the Egyptian army
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Hamas has accused the Egyptian military for the deaths of three Palestinians in a tunnel beneath the Gaza-Sinai border on Saturday.
The three died in a smuggling tunnel between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula early Saturday, and five were injured, after the group inhaled toxic gas during attempts to repair the tunnel.
The tunnel was destroyed in an Egyptian army border operation in Rafah, and the Palestinians were working to rebuild it when they were exposed to the gas.
Hamas condemned the “Egyptian operation” in a statement, saying the eight were part of a group trying to renew operations in the tunnel.
“There’s no no justification for the use of such dangerous methods against civilians under siege,” the terror group said.
Tunnel deaths have been a common occurrence recently. Last year, 22 members of Hamas’s armed wing were killed while “preparing equipment,” the majority in a string of tunnel collapses, the terror group said last month.
Gaza terrorists have dug dozens of tunnels, many reaching across the border into Israel, to launch attacks in the Jewish state.
Israel destroyed many of them during its 2014 war with Hamas, but Hamas has since been rebuilding the network.
Dov Lieber contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.