Israeli planes bomb Gaza tunnel

Israeli warplanes bombed a tunnel under the Gaza Strip border with Egypt today in the first such attack in almost two months, …

Israeli warplanes bombed a tunnel under the Gaza Strip border with Egypt today in the first such attack in almost two months, the Israeli military said.

Witnesses and officials of the Islamist group Hamas which rules the enclave confirmed the pre-dawn strike. There were no reports of casualties.

Gaza's smuggling tunnels, which still number in the hundreds despite air attacks and an Egyptian crackdown in which some have been blown up or flooded, are a frequent target for Israeli retaliation for attacks by Gaza's armed Palestinian groups.

Today's raid was launched in response to recent mortar and rocket attacks, an Israeli military spokeswoman said. It was the first aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip since June 18th.

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The aircraft had targeted a tunnel under the border at Rafah which was suspected of being used to smuggle explosives into Gaza from Egypt, she added.

Yesterday, two mortar rounds were fired near Israel's fortified Erez border crossing as a number of medical patients going for treatment in Israel were being ferried out by ambulance.

The rounds exploded about 300 metres from the Erez wall in Palestinian territory and no one was hurt.

Reuters