[Ma'an] Ma'an -- Egyptian security services raided a tunnel and two storehouses holding goods to be smuggled through tunnels into the Gaza Strip, following a security operation on the Egyptian border with Rafah on Saturday. The Egyptian security forces exposed a storehouse behind the local council of Rafah City, on the Egyptian side, and discovered a smuggling tunnel.
Further Egyptian security sources stated that they confiscated a number of goods in the warehouse, many of which were smuggled through the tunnel. They also raided another storehouse owned by a fish merchant in Al-Arish, where they found four cars loaded with fabric prepared for the tunnels.
The sources added that four men were detained, including one governmental employee in Al-Arish city, who admitted that the goods were prepared for smuggling into Gaza via the tunnels.
Meanwhile, the Sawasiyah human rights center warned on Saturday of the harsh living conditions endured by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, largely resulting from Israel's refusal to permit the entry of domestic gas for over three months. The centre also cautioned that searching for alternatives to compensate for the domestic gas shortage further frustrates the population, as such products are also unavailable as a result of Israel's blockade.
The human rights center further stated that many bakeries and factories in the Gaza Strip have been shut down as a result of the domestic gas crisis, adding that agricultural greenhouses and poultry farms have ceased functioning as a result, in turn threatening to escalate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Irael intends to permit small amounts of humanitarian aid intermittently into the Gaza Strip. However, the Sawasiyah human rights center said that this move is only an attempt to show international observers that it allows the bare minimum in to the besieged strip, describing the policy as an "insult" to Palestinians in Gaza.
The human rights group stressed that deepening the crisis during the winter months violates international law and treaties and called on Egypt to provide Gaza with the required amounts of domestic gas, adding that efforts need to be undertaken by the Arab world to end the siege and allow the Rafah crossing to be opened to rescue Palestinians from the "coming disasters."