Gaza tunnel blast kills 3 Palestinians – medics

GAZA CITY – Three young Palestinians were killed Saturday and four others injured in an explosion inside a tunnel used for smuggling goods into Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.

The accident occurred near the Egyptian border, when a butane gas cylinder being transported through the tunnel exploded.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in recent years in accidents in smuggling tunnels linking Gaza to Egypt.

Numerous tunnels were dug under the border between Egypt and Gaza to get goods and weapons into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2006 and controlled by the Islamist Hamas.