Gaza Strip – Apparent Strike On Gaza Tunnels Kills 2 Palestinians

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    Relatives of Palestinian Muhammed Al-aqraa who was killed in an explosion in a smuggling tunnel at the border between Gaza and Egypt, mourn in the family house during his funeral in Gaza City, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra)Gaza Strip – An explosion killed two Palestinians along the Gaza border with Egypt on Thursday in what appeared to be a strike on cross-border smuggling tunnels.

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    Palestinian officials said the blast was caused by an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military denied any involvement. Residents said the explosion was on the Egyptian side of the border, raising the possibility of an Egyptian strike.

    Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said the pre-dawn explosion killed two men and wounded five others. Palestinian civil defense workers recovered the bodies and the wounded and transferred them to hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip.

    Mohammed Zorob, who lives in the border town of Rafah, said the blast took place on the Egyptian side.

    Hamas has been working to improve relations with Cairo in recent months, and recently announced the deployment of additional forces along the border. The Islamic militant group ruling Gaza says the border is more secure and that underground smuggling has ceased.

    The Israeli military, which has not struck the Gaza tunnels since the 2014 war, denied it was involved in the blast.

    On Wednesday, the military said its missile defense system intercepted several rockets fired by militants in Egypt toward the southern Israeli city of Eilat — a relatively rare occurrence. Islamic State militants in the Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.

    Earlier this week, Israel carried out several strikes on Hamas targets after a rocket landed in Israel. Israel holds Hamas responsible for any fire originating from Gaza.


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    triumphinwhitehouse
    triumphinwhitehouse
    7 years ago

    the Egyptians fight terrorists better than the Zionists since they don’t care for so called “civilian” casualities any more than the Americans and British cared for it in Dresden or in Horoshima.