Israel is set to build a deep underground barrier along the the 60-kilometer Gaza border. AFP reports that construction is underway in all towns bordering the fence with Gaza.
The Guardian reports that the barrier will be equipped with sensors that detect cases of digging near the borders. The aim is to allegedly block Islamist Hamas soldiers from underground attacks. The barrier will cost some $600 million and could take years to be completed. The Israeli military's chief of staff is calling this the "largest project" in the armed forces' history.
A senior Hamas official in Gaza, Salah Bardawil, said the Palestinian militant group is unfazed: “The Palestinian people and the resistance can overcome all the obstacles made by the occupation. The resistance is creative and advanced and doesn’t care about the occupation’s procedures."
Israel's siege on Gaza has led to famine, malnutrition, contaminated drinking water and lack of medical support. According to International Business Times, "Gaza's medical facilities are underfunded, outdated and lack essential supplies. Travel restrictions make it difficult for Gazans to seek medical treatment elsewhere."
Israel built the Gaza-Israel barrier in 1994, a year after the Oslo Accords gave the Palestinian Authority a quasistate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Hamas has been governing the Gaza Strip since 2007 .