Egyptian authorities have torn down three tunnels linking the blockaded Gaza Strip to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, a written statement of the Egyptian Armed Forces said on Thursday.

The three tunnels were located in North Sinai's city of Rafah bordering Gaza, and several vehicles in the region were destroyed, the statement added.

Subject to a years-long blockade by Israel, the Gaza Strip, which is ruled by Palestinian movement Hamas, had come to depend on the tunnel network to import desperately-needed commodities, including food, fuel and medicine.

Since the 2013 military coup against President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian authorities have cracked down on the tunnels along the border with Palestinian territory.

In 2014, Egyptian authorities began to establish a buffer zone in North Sinai's city of Rafah along Gaza border following a spate of militant attacks against army and police forces.

The Egyptian army had even built large pipelines along the border with the Gaza Strip and began flooding the area with seawater, leading to the death of dozens of Gazans.