Children have comprised a leading element in the Palestinian tunnel
industry.
Workers up to age 18 were categorized as children in the report. Over the last three
years, a
total of 117 Palestinians have been killed in the tunnels.
The report said children work for 12 hours a day in the tunnels, either as
diggers or transporters.
The minors have been given drugs to keep them working, the report said. The
Palestinian society cited Tramadol, a pain-killer.
"This work is very exhausting for children," the report said. "Many take
pain-killers."
[On Nov. 11, Egyptian sources reported an ambush on a security patrol
after authorities seized a shipment of smuggled goods heading for the Gaza
Strip. The sources said 200 tons of cement were confiscated in eastern
Sinai.]
The report said the danger to Palestinian minors has increased amid
Israeli air strikes and Egyptian operations. Egypt has been accused of
flooding the tunnels with water and gas.
"This kind of labor weakens the potential of future generations and
hinders development of human resources," the report said.