Israeli destroys tunnel, shuts Gaza border

The Israeli army has destroyed an 800-metre-long Hamas tunnel near the border with the Gaza Strip, as tensions in the area remain high amid ongoing Palestinian protests.

Israel also closed a main border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, a day after renewed violence between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces on the edge of the coastal enclave.

No casualties were reported in Palestinian or Israeli media, though the Palestinian news agency Wafa said the attacks caused the area in northern Gaza to catch fire, causing damage to surrounding homes.

According to Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus, the tunnel, the ninth destroyed since October, did not enter Israel but was near the Erez border crossing between Israel and Gaza.

Read the article in The Gippsland Times (AAP).