Work begins on new barrier along Gaza border

The Defense Ministry announces it has begun work on a new barrier along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Construction began Thursday on the barrier, which the ministry says is some six meters (19.5 feet) high and will stretch for 65 kilometers (40 miles) along the border from Kerem Shalom in the south to the new sea barrier in the north of the Strip meant to guard against infiltration from the Mediterranean.

The new fence will be constructed along the path of an underground barrier being built to block cross-border attack tunnels dug from the Palestinian territory, which emerged as a threat during the 2014 Gaza war.

“Over the weekend we began building the above-ground barrier along the Gaza border. The barrier will prevent terrorists from Gaza from penetrating into our territory on the ground,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting.

הקמת המכשול העילי יוצא לדרך: מינהלת גבולות ותפר החלה בחמישי האחרון את הקמתו של המכשול העילי בגבול רצועת עזה. המכשול יוקם על תוואי המכשול התת-קרקעי, יהיה באורך 65 ק"מ ויתנשא לגובה של כ-6 מטר. pic.twitter.com/ZBuiL9heNi

— משרד הביטחון (@MoDIsrael) February 3, 2019