Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A Hamas militant was killed on Saturday when a tunnel collapsed in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials and the group’s military wing said.
The spokesman of the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qodra, identified the militant as Khaled al-Hoor, 22.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in a terse statement said it “deplored” Hoor’s death.
Israel accuses Gaza militants of building tunnels that could be used to launch attacks against the Jewish State, and destroyed several during the devastating 2014 war with Hamas.
The Islamist movement, which controls the coastal enclave, and other militant groups such as the Islamic Jihad have a network of tunnels in the Israeli-blockaded territory, both for smuggling and military purposes.
Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza, has also destroyed tunnels Palestinians use to smuggle commercial goods, cash, people and allegedly weapons.