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1 killed, 3 wounded in Gaza tunnel cave-in: medics

Xinhua, September 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

One Palestinian was killed and three others wounded on Thursday when an underground tunnel collapsed in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, close to the borders with Israel, medics said.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of Hamas-run ministry in Gaza, told reporters that 30-year-old Ahmed Mayatt was killed and three others wounded when the tunnel collapsed while they were inside it.

Local sources said the four are militants, members in Islamic Hamas movement's armed wing. The movement hasn't confirmed if Mayatt and his colleagues are Hamas members.

Israel accused Hamas and other military groups in Gaza of digging tunnels used for attacking Israel.

Since the beginning of this year, more than 20 Palestinians, most of them Hamas members, were killed in tunnels collapses.

Israel in the summer of 2014 waged a large-scale military air and ground offensive for 50 days on the Gaza Strip aiming at weakening Hamas-led Gaza militants and destroying tunnels used for waging attacks into Israel.

The Israeli offensive ended after Egypt brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants, leaving around 2,200 Palestinians and 70 Israelis killed. Endit