The FINANCIAL — GAZA STRIP. Israel planes destroyed two smuggling tunnels near the Gaza-Strip-Egyptian border in dawn attacks on May 10, al-Quds radio said, adding that there were no injuries, according to RIA Novosti.
An Israeli source confirmed the incident, saying the airstrikes were in response to rocket attacks on southern Israel on May 8.
The Gaza Strip has been subject to an almost continuous Israeli blockade since the radical Islamic group Hamas took control of the enclave in the summer of 2007, ousting President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement.
Since the start of the blockade, most of Gaza's consumer goods have been smuggled through tunnels from Egypt. However, Egypt has now nearly finished constructing an underground steel wall on its border with Gaza to stop the smugglers, who also bring in weapons.
Israel's Operation Cast Lead, which ended in mid-January 2009, killed some 1,300 Palestinians in Gaza and injured over 5,300 others. Up to 50,000 people were also left homeless in the enclave of 1.5 million. Israel's casualties in the three-week conflict were 13, including 10 military personnel.
The offensive was launched in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants on south Israel.
