"Many fighters have been recently killed in similar operations," Hamas
said.
The sources said Hamas has sought to expand and develop its military
tunnel network. They said the tunnels were meant to enable operations
without detection by the Israel Air Force.
Hamas's military also controls more than 50 tunnels that span the
Egyptian-Gaza border, the sources said. They said the tunnels have
facilitated the smuggling of weapons, fuel and
cement to the Gaza Strip.
On June 28, two Palestinian workers were injured in a fire that erupted
in a smuggling tunnel along the border. More than 160 Palestinians have been
killed in accidents while building or maintaining the tunnels.
Over the last week, however, the tunnel network was said to have slowed
down amid Israel's permission for the import of construction material to the
Gaza Strip. Industry sources said the flow of cement through the tunnel
smuggling network has dropped from 2,000 to 700 tons per day.
"There is no longer a daily need for iron, ceramics and cement because
they are available in the market," a tunnel operator, identified only as Abu
Ahmed, said.
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