The iron wall separating Israel and Gaza is still the talk of the hour since Palestinian gunmen managed to penetrate it and cross the border into Israel, in a scene that surprised everyone, given the advanced technology the wall was equipped with to prevent infiltrations.
In December 2021, Israel announced the completion of construction of the massive barrier that runs the length of the Gaza Strip above and below ground. The project, which cost 3.5 billion shekels ($1.1 billion), took more than three and a half years of work, according to the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
Israel finished building the wall in 2021
About 1,200 workers participated in the project, about 140,000 tons of iron and steel were used, and up to 330,000 truckloads of sand and rocks and two million cubic meters of concrete and iron were removed, according to what was reported. The Times of Israel About the Defense Ministry general supervising the checkpoints, Eran Ofer.
In December 2021, Israel announced the completion of its construction, and the then Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, said that it placed an “iron wall” between Hamas and the residents of southern Israel.
Israel published pictures of the wall upon completion of its construction
Gantz said, according to a Defense Ministry statement, “This barrier, which is a first-class technological project, deprives Hamas of the capabilities it tried to develop and places an iron wall, sensors and concrete between it and the residents of the south.”
The project was announced in 2016, and Israel said it aims to confront the tunnels used by Hamas in the Gaza War in 2014.
The wall is 65 kilometers long.
It extends to the sea in order to ensure that the armed factions in the Gaza Strip do not dig underwater tunnels, as they attempted in the past, according to the Times of Israel.
The Ministry of Defense said at the time that the “smart fence” includes hundreds of cameras, radars and sensors.
This barrier consists of several components: an underground reinforced concrete wall studded with tunnel detection sensors, a six-meter-high steel fence, a network of radars and other surveillance sensors, and remote-controlled weapons.
The Washington Post says that on the Israeli side, watchtowers and sand dunes were erected to monitor threats and slow down intruders.
Armed men stormed the border despite the fortifications
But on Saturday, Hamas militants crossed the wall after opening loopholes and crossing on foot, motorcycles, and an SUV.
According to the Israeli army, the fence was breached at 29 points.
A video shows a bulldozer making a breach, while dozens of Palestinians gathered around it. Then, Palestinian gunmen entered nearby towns, such as Sderot, the Biri neighborhood, and others, and began shooting their residents, according to Israeli media and eyewitnesses.
“They are shooting at us.” Survivors of the Hamas attack recount hours of terror and madness
Survivors of attacks launched by Palestinian militants inside Israel recounted the bitter hours they lived in the wake of Hamas militants infiltrating Israeli territory and threatening its residents, children, women and men.
About 900 Israelis were killed in the attack and about 2,600 were wounded, in addition to at least 100 others being kidnapped, according to official data.
Israel responded to the attack by launching raids on the Gaza Strip, which, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip, resulted in the killing of about 700 people and the wounding of 4,000 others.
“Hundreds participated in it.” How did Hamas begin its attack on Israeli towns?
The sudden attack launched by the Hamas movement on Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip caused the death of about 200 people and the injury of hundreds of others, in addition to the kidnapping of a number of Israeli civilians and military personnel.
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2023-10-10 21:53:49
