3 Palestinians found dead in tunnel underneath border between Gaza, Egypt

Three Palestinian men were found dead inside a smuggling tunnel underneath the borderline area between Gaza Strip and Egypt, medics and a security official said.

Paramedics said they were informed that three workers who worked in a smuggling tunnel had been missing since Thursday morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

Paramedics and rescue crews have taken out the three bodies from the tunnel and sent to the hospital, Eyad al-Bozzom, spokesman of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said in a press statement on Friday.

The Palestinian factions, including Hamas, called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate the cause of the three workers' death, adding that they hold Egypt responsible for their death.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave and ousted the security forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

To defy the blockade, the Palestinians dug hundreds of tunnels underneath the borders with Egypt to get their supplies of fuels, food, medicine and raw materials for construction, industry and agriculture.

In 2013, the Egyptian army launched a military campaign that targeted the tunnels, destroying more than 95 percent of them.