21 Persons Died inside Tunnels to-date in 2010; Tunnel's Death Toll Rises to 157; Gaza Government Must Take Steps to Protect Tunnel Workers

Further people have been killed as a result of collapsing tunnels in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
On Saturday 29 May 2010, six persons died and 11 persons were injured.
According to Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, since 2006, 157 persons died in separate incidents and 478 persons were injured.
In 2010 alone, 21 persons were killed.
Ten of them were killed inside tunnels as a result of Israeli aerial attacks carried out in 2010.
Al Mezan expresses regret for the increasing number of victims in these incidents.
It also reiterates its call on the Gaza Government to take effective steps to protect tunnel workers life and well-being.
  At approximately 2:30am on Saturday 29 May 2010, civil defense teams recovered six dead bodies and 12 injured persons from inside a tunnel in the Al Brazil neighborhood on the Gaza-Egypt border, south Rafah.
According to Al Mezan's field investigations, a home gas canister exploded inside a tunnel.
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Al Mezan identified the names of the dead persons as follows: ·         Hassan Zaki Kawari',47; and his brother ·         Yasser Zaki Kawari', 30; ·         Anwar Nizam Kawari', 19; ·         Ashraf Salman Al Sha'ir, 17; ·         Midhat Ramadan Al Sha'ir, 25; and ·         Naji Kamal Al Sha'ir, 27   The first three are from Khan Younis District and the last two are from the As-Salam neighborhood in Rafah town.
     Al Mezan identified the names of the injured persons as follows: ·         Qusai Zaki Kawari', 32; who was critically injured; ·         Mohammed Zaki Kawari', 35; ·         Ahmed Zaki Kawari', 25; who is the  brother of Hassan and Yasser both of whom died ·         Issa Hasan Kawari', 23; ·         Waleed Mohammed Sarhan, 26; ·         Ahmed Mahmoud Sarhan, 39; ·         Mohammed Kamal Al Sha'ir, 20; ·         Hamada Salman Al Sha'ir, 22; who is critically injured; ·         Belal Hassan Al Shaiar, 23; ·         Zuhair Zwaied Al Sha'ir, 24; ·         Talal Ramadan Al Sha'ir, 38; and ·         Ramzi Talal Al Sha'ir, 27.
  All of the injured persons are from Rafah and Khan Younis.
 As mentioned above, since 2006, 157 persons died and 478 persons were injured in tunnel incidents.
Five of the dead were children and 21 died in 2010 alone.
Ten of the victims died in IOF attacks on the tunnels.
  Al Mezan reiterates its regret for the victims in these incidents.
Most of the people who work in tunnels are from very poor backgrounds and have been forced to undertake this kind of work to provide food for their families.
Al Mezan reiterates its demand on the Gaza Government, which insists that the tunnels are the result of the Israeli siege of Gaza, to take effective measures to protect tunnel workers and to prevent the fall of more victims.
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