CAIRO, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Egypt rejected on Monday Israeli claims about the existence of operational tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, according to Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV channel.
"Israel had not provided any evidence of active tunnels along the border with Gaza," the report cited an unnamed Egyptian high-ranking official as saying.
The official accused Israel of exploiting closed tunnels in Gaza to "propagate false allegations for political purposes," claiming that Israel uses these claims to deflect from its failures in achieving objectives in Gaza.
The Israel Defense Force said on Sunday that the Israeli army uncovered a large tunnel along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border area. According to the IDF, the tunnel was around 3 meters tall and big enough for vehicles to pass through.
Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, has long been a key regional mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. ■