Egypt demolished a town in its expanded Gaza Buffer Zone in 2014. Photo: news.vice.com

(VOVworld) – The Egyptian government plans to expand to two kilometers its military buffer zone in North Sinai province bordering the Palestinian Gaza Strip.

The move will defeat a network of smuggling tunnels between Sinai and Gaza which have been used by militants to infiltrate Egypt and launch attacks against Egyptian troops.

The decision was made after Egyptian authorities discovered new tunnels with a length of more than 2 km, equipped with communication wiring.

Egyptian security forces have nearly completed the second phase of the Egypt-Gaza buffer zone project, which involves evacuating more than 1,200 houses in the area.