Egypt Floods Palestinian Tunnel to Gaza Killing 4

The bodies of four Palestinian tunnel workers were discovered on Sunday in a tunnel that had been flooded by the Egyptian military last week. The tunnels are dug by Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip in order to smuggle in food and other supplies that are scarce due to the Israeli blockade of Gaza and Egyptian support of that policy. The tunnels, which are also used for launching terrorist raids, are often flooded with seawater when discovered by Egyptian authorities. Since the beginning of the year, Hamas – which governs the Gaza Strip – reports “dozens” of deaths inside the tunnels – some as the result of accidents but more as the result of Egyptian military operations. Tunnels have been a Gaza phenomenon since 2007, but since President Al-Sissi came to power in Egypt, the underground structures have become very dangerous places to be.