Egyptian security officials this week discovered five new underground tunnels at Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, a security source said. Three tunnels on Monday were found at the Brahma neighborhood and two others were found on Tuesday on the outskirts of the Egyptian part of the city of Rafah. The source said tight security measures have been imposed on the tunnels in preparation to demolish them. The source said no one was found nearby and the tunnels were used to smuggle food and gasoline. A thousand underground tunnels are thought to have been dug in recent years along the 13-km border between Egypt and Gaza, securing millions of dollars in profit for Palestinian workers, entrepreneurs and transport agents. People used them to smuggle goods into Gaza after Israel imposed a blockade upon the territory after the Palestinian group Hamas took power in 2007. The tunnels are usually 25 meters deep and more than 600 meters long, according to press reports. They link open areas inside Gaza with farms and houses on the Egyptian side. Israel has frequently accused Hamas of using the tunnels to smuggle weapons. Translated from the Arabic Edition
