Increased troop deployment aims to secure Ashkelon amid fears Gaza’s ruling terror group may try to attack from the sea
Border Police will be stationed in the coming days along the coast of the southern city of Ashkelon amid IDF concerns that Hamas may try to infiltrate Israel for an attack by sea, according to a Sunday TV report.
Hadashot news said the additional troops will perform security operations, conduct patrols and keep constant lookout to detect any potential terrorists coming in from the sea.
The IDF has said Hamas is working to improve its ability to penetrate Israel from the sea, and in recent months Israel has been constructing a sea barrier to prevent such an incident.
Work began on the barrier on May. When completed it will be 200 meters (650 feet) long, 50 meters (160 feet) wide and six meters (20 feet) above the water. There will also be defensive infrastructure along the top.
The barrier, described by the ministry as an “impregnable breakwater” and constructed in the area of Zikim beach adjacent to the coastal enclave, is designed to withstand waves and last for many years.
The decision to build the barrier was prompted by an attack carried out during the 2014 war in Gaza. On July 8, 2014, four Hamas naval commandos swam ashore outside Kibbutz Zikim on Israel’s southern coast. The frogmen brought with them automatic weapons, grenades and explosives. Some 40 minutes after they came in from the surf, the Hamas operatives were killed in a combined strike from the sea, ground and air.
As reported by The Times of Israel