Egyptian Forces Demolish Arms Smuggling Tunnel

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Egyptian security forces destroyed one of the largest smuggling tunnels discovered to date between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.

The 1,200-meter tunnel (about 3/4 of a mile) was stocked with large quantities of explosives and mortar shells and equipped with lights, telephone lines and ventilation systems.

Access to the tunnel on the Egyptian side was through the bedroom of a home belonging to a known smuggler. Egyptian forces reportedly planned to demolish the house along with the tunnel.

The arms tunnel is one of dozens destroyed by Egyptian forces after the ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, who strengthened ties with Hamas -- an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood -- during his one year in office.

Under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt declared Hamas a terror organization, accusing the Palestinian faction of arming and aiding Islamist terror cells in the Sinai.  

Egypt is creating a 500-meter buffer zone, a kind of no man's land, to stem the flow of weapons and jihadists from Gaza.