Israel completes 'iron wall' along Gaza border

Israel on Tuesday announced the completion of an enhanced security barrier along its border with the besieged Gaza Strip.

The structure includes and underground wall equipped with sensors to prevent militants from using tunnels. 

It also includes improvements to an existing above-ground fence, a naval barrier, radar systems, and command and control rooms.

It will provide "Israeli citizens a sense of security," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.

Around 220,000 trucks of concrete and 140,000 tons of iron and steel were used during construction.

Gantz says the "iron wall", stretching 65-kilometers (40-miles), will be a barrier "between the terror organization and the residents of Israel's south."

Israel wants to keep Hamas out

The Defense Ministry did not say exactly how deep the barrier went underground.

Plans for the barrier were first announced in 2016 to stop attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Israel, the European Union, and the United States classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Israel has fought 4 wars with the group since it seized power in Gaza in 2007, most recently in May. Hamas used a sophisticated tunnel system, during the fighting, to try and get fighters into Israel but failed.

They were more successful during fighting in 2014 when fighters entered Israeli territory several times.

Gaza surrounded

Israel and Egypt are tightly restricting the flow of goods and people in and out of the territory. Aid organizations say some 2 million people live in very poor conditions.

In 2018 and 2019, Hamas organized violent mass protests along the border to pressure Israel to ease the blockade.

More than 200 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed and thousands of Palestinians were wounded.

lo/wmr (AFP, dpa, Reuters)