Israel said Sunday that work to strengthen its border with the Gaza Strip had entered a new phase, with construction starting on a massive new barrier along the frontier.
"Over the weekend we began building the above-ground barrier along the Gaza border," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told journalists before the weekly cabinet meeting.
A defense ministry statement said work on the structure began Thursday.
It is set to follow the 65-kilometer course of an underground barrier also under construction meant to neutralize the threat of cross-border tunnels built by Gaza militants.
At its western end, the statement said, the above-ground barrier would join a fortified sea wall jutting into the Mediterranean.
Some Israeli commentators have said that Netanyahu would be unwilling to see a new uptick in hostilities with Gaza's Hamas rulers in the runup to general elections set for April 9.
But the premier, who is also defense minister, on Sunday pledged the upcoming polls would not affect security decisions.
"If the quiet is not maintained in Gaza, we will make the decisions even in the elections period and will not hesitate to act," he said.
