An Islamic Hamas militant died on Sunday as he was digging a tunnel under the border between Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, Palestinian security sources reported.

Baker al-Assar, a 20-year-old resident of the central Gaza Strip refugee camp of Nusseirat, was killed when the tunnel he was in collapsed, the sources said.

The flood, caused by heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday morning infiltrated into the tunnel, was the main reason for the collapse, the sources added.

Israel has threatened to carry out a large-scale operation into Gaza Strip and reoccupy the border area between Gaza Strip and Egypt to prevent arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza.

Palestinian security sources have said that Egypt decided to deploy 5,000 security policemen on the border between Egypt and Gaza to prevent more arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip.

Source: Xinhua