EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) -- Egypt's military closed two smuggling tunnels leading to Gaza on Monday, security officials said.

Egyptian soldiers arrested 10 suspected smugglers in Rafah and shut two tunnels used to smuggle goods to the Gaza Strip, Egyptian officials told Ma'an.

Families of the arrested smugglers staged a small demonstration against the arrests.

The tunnel network developed as a vital source of goods under Israel's blockade of the coastal strip and Egyptian restrictions on the official Rafah crossing point.

Work conditions in the network of underground tunnels are notoriously dangerous, with rights groups saying that at least 230 people have been killed in tunnel collapses.