At least five Palestinians were killed and four others were hurt on Tuesday when Egyptian forces blew up two smuggling tunnels beneath the Egyptian-Gaza Strip border, medical workers and residents said. According to locals, the tunnels, used to bring goods from Egypt into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, collapsed when Egyptian troops detonated explosives in a bid to curb smuggling.

The Gazans use tunnels to bypass an Israeli blockade that was tightened after Hamas seized the Strip last year. 

© 2008 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)