Netanyahu warns Hamas over uptick in border violence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Hamas that Israel will respond harshly to any violence coming from the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu makes the remarks as he tours the security fence along the Egyptian border amid recent rising tensions with Gaza.

“Hamas should understand that any display of aggression will be met with twice as great a response from the Israeli side,” he says.

“It is better they understand this now than afterwards,” Netanyahu adds.

The premier also hails the security fence along the border with Egypt, which he has accused his chief election rival Benny Gantz of opposing when it was built, a charge the retired general has denied.

“This fence is a phenomenal success. It has completely stopped the infiltration of hundreds of thousands from Africa and the entrance to Israel of terrorists from the Sinai,” he says.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the border with Egypt at the southern village of Nitzana in the Negev desert on March 7, 2019. (Jim Hollander/Pool/AFP)