IDF sea barrier closes defensive gap on Gaza border

A 200-meter-long barrier is almost complete at Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

By Joseph Wolkin, World Israel News

A formidable sea barrier is almost complete at Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip, according to Israel’s Channel 10 news.

The barrier, which extends into the Mediterranean, is a direct response to an incident four years ago when Hamas terrorists penetrated Israel from the sea during Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

The terrorists headed for a nearby Kibbutz armed with automatic assault rifles and grenades. Fortunately, Israeli forces spotted them and eliminated the threat.

The event served as a wake-up call for the Israeli military, which has moved to fill the gap in it defenses along that area of the beach — a shallow area of water where it’s difficult for ground forces and seagoing vessels to operate.

In 2014, only an old fence stood between Israel and terrorist infiltrators in that area.

The barrier, which extends 200 meters (218 yards) into the sea,  appears impressive with its boulders but also primitive to the untrained eye. In fact, the boulders conceal an concrete wall interior lined with seismic detectors and other advanced technological devices whose purpose is classified.

Above the barrier extends a smart fence rising 20-feet above the sea. Made out of armored stone topped with barbed-wire fencing, which also features sophisticated sensors.

“No other barrier like this exists in the world today,” Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said when he formally announced the project.

Construction of the barrier started in late May and appears to be on schedule, despite occasional attempts by Hamas terrorists to disrupt construction.

The sea barrier is part of a much larger construction project to surround the Gaza Strip with an underground barrier to prevent the terror group from digging tunnels into Israeli territory in order to strike Israeli civilian targets.