The Israeli state comptroller report issued Feb. 28 harshly criticized the government and military for not being prepared to confront the danger of the tunnels dug by Hamas on the eastern border of Gaza through which the movement's fighters carried out several military operations against army positions during the summer 2014 war. In response, Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, told Knesset members on March 22 that the army had made numerous efforts since the 2014 Gaza war to counter Hamas' tunnels in eastern Gaza and is currently building a barrier to prevent Hamas from using the tunnels in any future military confrontation with Israel.

On April 5, Yedioth Ahronoth published pictures of a cement factory north of the Gaza Strip that will reportedly be involved in constructing the barrier. The structure will cost $1 billion; it will be 65 kilometers long and constructed in segments above ground and underground along the border in northern and eastern Gaza to be able to detect the tunnels’ location. The paper quoted an anonymous source from the Israeli Defense Ministry as saying that engineering equipment and vehicles will be operating in 40 posts in the upcoming weeks, along with 2,000 workers and large military contingents to protect them.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum told Al-Monitor, “Hamas is closely monitoring Israel’s field efforts to thwart the movement’s military capabilities, mainly by building a barrier to prevent it from using its tunnels to defend Gaza. However, Hamas is constantly evaluating Israel’s efforts to prevent it from achieving its objectives, without entering a wide-scale war. [Hamas] evaluates each step it takes in any event.” Barhoum did not indicate whether Hamas continues to dig tunnels.

In an April 1 article in Maariv, Israeli military expert Alon Ben-David said that building a barrier could result in a new war with Hamas. According to him, Hamas will likely try to stop construction of the barrier, even at the expense of another round of military conflict. He said there are doubts about Hamas’ ability to restrain itself, watching in silence as Israel deprives it of its strategic treasures.