Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Egypt has reported the discovery of hundreds of smuggling
tunnels to the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian military said it found more than 225 tunnels used to
smuggle weapons, cement, fuel and cars from the Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza
Strip.

The military assessed that more than 500 tunnels spanned the
14-kilometer border with the Gaza Strip.

“Each tunnel has several exits, including those inside Egyptian houses,
and this can be difficult to detect,” Egyptian military spokesperson Col.
Ahmed Ali said. “As a result, there could be as many as over 500 tunnels.”

Ali told the Palestinian news agency Maan that the Egyptian Army was
directed to shut down the tunnel network with the Gaza Strip. He confirmed that the military flooded scores of tunnels.

Estimates of the tunnel network range from 1,000 to 1,500. Officials
said the tunnel closures were combined with military interceptions of arms shipments through Sinai.

“The Egyptian goal is to finally destroy the tunnels,” an official said.
On Feb. 16, Hamas acknowledged the Egyptian Army campaign against the tunnels. A Hamas statement said the Egyptian flooding of the tunnels marked a renewed blockade of the Gaza Strip.

  Col. Ahmed Ali, Egypt finds hundreds more smuggling tunnels to Gaza, Sinai Peninsula