Israel

Hamas: 7 Terrorists Killed in Gaza Tunnel Collapse

Thursday, January 28, 2016 6:43 am | < 1 Minute Read

A Palestinian men work at the entrance of a tunnel, used for smuggling supplies between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, after being flooded with seawater by Egyptian army, in Rafah in southern Gaza, October 1, 2015. Last month, the Egyptian army started to pump large amounts of sea water into large pipes that have recently been extended across the border connecting Gaza and Egypt, in an attempt to destroy tunnels used to smuggle goods into the besieged coastal enclave. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/ Flash90 *** Local Caption *** òæä øöåòú òæä îðäøåú äáøçä äöôä îöøéí ôìñèéðéí — A Palestinian men work at the entrance of a tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Oct. 1, 2015. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The Islamic terror group Hamas says seven of its members died when a tunnel into Israel collapsed as they were working on it.

Hamas announced Thursday that 11 terrorists were repairing the tunnel to fix damage sustained from heavy rainfall. The tunnel collapsed killing seven, while the rest were rescued, they said. Loudspeakers in Gaza blared Hamas speeches and eulogies mourning the dead terrorists after the announcement.

Hamas has built a sophisticated network of tunnels that it has used to penetrate Israel to carry out terror attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers. Israel destroyed dozens of the tunnels in the war against the terrorist group in Gaza in 2014.

Three other Hamas terrorists were killed in tunnel collapses in Gaza earlier this month.