The Egyptian army has begun digging deep water reservoirs on the border with Gaza in order to destroy smuggling tunnels and prevent future ones from being built. PHOTO: Al-Jazeera.

The Egyptian army has begun digging deep water reservoirs to be used for fish farming along the country’s border with Gaza in order to combat and destroy smuggling tunnels leading from the coastal enclave into the Sinai peninsula, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.

The army began the work two days ago within the area designated by Jerusalem and Cairo for a buffer zone. So far, pits totaling a thousand meters in length have already been dug, reaching depths of up to 20 meters.

The military also started pumping sea water from the Mediterranean into the reservoirs through huge hoses and pumps, in order to increase the water’s filtration into the depths of the soil.

According to the report, as the water drained into the soil the army pumped in more water to ensure that the earth deep beneath the reservoirs would become completely saturated.

The military’s goal, Al Jazeera said, is to completely immerse the underground tunnels, causing their collapse by loosening up the surrounding soil, and making it impossible to dig future tunnels.

This project was spearheaded by Egyptian authorities as an alternative to digging a massive water canal along Egypt’s entire border with Gaza. The canal concept was scrapped after the Egyptian Army’s Engineer Corps said it would be insufficient for the intended purpose.