Hamas operated tunnel. Photo: Wiki Commons.

Gaza’s border authorities said Monday that all tunnels between the Gaza Strip and Egypt will be closed until further notice.

On Friday it was reported that dozens of tunnels had collapsed as a result of heavy rain and stormy weather. Several people were trapping and on Sunday authorities pulled the body of a victim from one of the tunnels.

A spokesperson for the border authority told the Ma’an News Agency that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure.

According to the Egyptian Independent, the Gaza-based Al Mezan Center for Human Rights estimates that 197 people  were killed from 2006 to 2011 in the tunnels, including 10 children.

The tunnels are used to smuggle goods and weapons into Gaza because of Israel’s blockade of the strip, a preventative measure aimed to stop the rearmament of terror groups in Gaza.