A Related Video You May Like:
The decision to build an upgraded naval barrier was made after five Hamas naval commandos tried to infiltrate Kibbutz Zikim during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.The terrorist frogmen were armed with automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and several types of explosives devices. They were killed by the IDF in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air.The new barrier, which has been designed to withstand severe sea conditions for many years, is aimed at preventing similar incidents. Hamas has significantly expanded its naval commando unit in the four years since the last conflict, with a reported 1,500 frogmen.In February a senior Naval officer warned that Hamas was increasingly turning to the sea to carry out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, saying, “Hamas sees potential in the sea like they saw potential in their tunnels.”In June, the IDF for the first time destroyed a naval tunnel belonging to Hamas. According to a senior naval officer, the navy knew about the underwater attack tunnel for several months before an Israeli air strike destroyed it on June 3.The tunnel, which was operational but did not actually extend into Israeli waters, would have enabled terrorists to enter Israel from a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip and exit into the sea unnoticed.The border with Gaza is Israel’s most explosive boundary. Thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated along the Gaza-Israel security fence since March 30 with at least 157 killed by IDF fire and thousands more wounded since the “Great March of Return” began.
Israel releases first pictures of underwater barrier with Gaza
200m barrier is expected to be finished by the end of the year.
