This photo taken on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, shows a tunnel, that Israel says was dug by the Islamic Jihad militant group, leading from Gaza into Israel, near the southern Israeli kibbutz of Kissufim, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. The Israeli army showed journalists the tunnel that was uncovered and partially destroyed in late October, 2017. (Jack Guez/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
KISSUFIM, Israel (AP) - The Israeli military says a secretive project to build an underground wall along the border with Gaza is proving to be a deterrent against militant attack tunnels from the Palestinian territory.
In a briefing to reporters at the border Thursday, the military says the wall extends hundreds of feet below ground and is studded with sensors. It's also topped by a 26-foot metal fence.
Military spokesman Col. Jonathan Conricus wouldn't disclose details about the barrier's tunnel detection capabilities but says it's effective.
Excavating machines, concrete mixers and hundreds of workers are toiling furiously to complete the barrier by mid-2019 at a cost of about $700 million.
During the most recent war between Israel and Hamas, militants caught Israel off guard by attacking through its underground tunnel network.
An Israeli soldier stands on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, near the opening of a tunnel, that Israel says was dug by the Islamic Jihad militant group, leading from Gaza into Israel, near the southern Israeli kibbutz of Kissufim, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. The Israeli army showed journalists the tunnel that was uncovered and partially destroyed in late October, 2017. (Jack Guez/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press
People can be seen standing on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, from an opening in a tunnel, that Israel says was dug by the Islamic Jihad militant group, leading from Gaza into Israel, near the southern Israeli kibbutz of Kissufim, Israel, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018. The Israeli army showed journalists the tunnel that was uncovered and partially destroyed in late October, 2017. (Jack Guez/Pool via AP)
The Associated Press