EL-ARISH: Two Egyptians were injured on Friday when contraband fuel destined to be smuggled into the besieged Gaza Strip burst into flames, a security official said.

About 2,000 liters of fuel had been stored in a house in Sarsuriya, near Egypt’s border with the impoverished Palestinian territory, the official said.

The fuel was to have been smuggled through an underground pipe, he added.

Goods are routinely smuggled into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt. Israel, which blockaded the Strip after Hamas seized power there in June 2007, has asked Egypt to end the traffic.

Israel said its recent 22-day offensive on Gaza was to stop rocket fire from the impoverished Strip into south Israel. During the offensive, Israel attacked the border between Egypt and Gaza repeatedly to stem smuggling of weapons through tunnels.

Egypt denies arms are smuggled from its territory.

The tunnels have been the lifeline to Gazans during the blockade, through which essential goods were smuggled into the territory.

Earlier this month, Egyptian police raided a farm near the border with Israel that was used for storing goods including refrigerators, canned food and even motorbikes. -AFP