Two Palestinians dead after Egypt floods 'trade tunnel'

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said the body of Mohammed Abbas of Rafah was found Sunday following the death of a man named Fadi Abu Dan.

Seven Palestinian men had been trapped in the tunnel on Thursday, five of whom were rescued, according to rescue services.
A local civil defense official accused Egypt of causing the trade tunnel to collapse by flooding it with seawater.

The tunnel stretched from the southern Gaza town of Rafah into Egypt.

Gaza has been blockaded by the Israeli regime since June 2007, leading to a humanitarian crisis that has caused a decline in the standards of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty. Egypt has also imposed a siege of its own on Gaza.

Israel denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate healthcare and education.

The Gazans have been using the tunnels to bring in basic needs into the besieged enclave.

Egypt has demolished and flooded hundreds of tunnels because of what it calls security concerns. The operations against the underground passages have intensified since President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi took office in 2014.