Israel digs deep to thwart tunnel threat from Gaza Strip
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.