Israeli tank shelling in the Gaza Strip has killed at least three people, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The attack on Sunday targeted an observation post manned by Islamic Jihad fighters after an explosive device was left near the Israel-Gaza fence, Israeli military officials said.

Two of the killed were identified as 25-year-old Hussein al-Amour, 28-year-old Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A third person, 25-year-old Naseem Marwan al-Amour, succumbed later to his wounds.

A day earlier, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to the Hamas movement, although no casualties were reported.

More than 118 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since mass protests demanding the right of return began in late March.

Israel has been widely condemned for its killing of unarmed protesters.</s>Israël wil de Palestijnse enclave Gaza nu ook fysiek afsluiten van de zee. De Israëlische minister van Defensie Avigdor Lieberman deelde zondag mee dat aan het Zikim-strand de bouw van een ‘unieke hindernis’ is begonnen.

De constructie moet verhinderen dat Palestijnen over zee Israël kunnen binnendringen. Volgens het kabinet van Lieberman gaat het om een soort golfbreker die tegen het einde van het jaar klaar moet zijn. De ondoordringbare constructie, gemaakt van steen en hekwerk, zal drie verdiepingen tellen.

Tijdens de oorlog in Gaza was het in 2014 militante Palestijnen gelukt via de zee in Israël te raken, luidt het in een mededeling van de Israëlische regering. ‘Door de versperring verliest de radicale Palestijnse beweging Hamas, die Gaza bestuurt, opnieuw strategische capaciteit’, zegt Lieberman.

Israël en Egypte blokkeren uit veiligheidsoverwegingen de Gazastrook al meer dan een decennium. Daardoor zijn de levensomstandigheden van de zowat twee miljoen bewoners van de smalle strook aan de kust zeer slecht.</s>Two Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in Gaza Strip

Gaza City: Israeli tank fire at an Islamic Jihad observation post killed two militants from the group in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

The Gazan health ministry identified those killed as Hussein al-Amour, 25, and Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, 28. The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a ministry spokesman said.

A statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed the two as members.

Islamic Jihad is the second-most powerful armed group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas, which runs the Palestinian enclave.

Israel´s military said in a statement that the tank fire came after soldiers detonated an explosive device that had been placed near the border fence, targeting its troops.

It said the explosive device had been hidden inside a pair of fence cutters.

Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Hamas, but there were no reports of casualties.

The military said the operation was in response to a brief incursion across the border earlier in the day by Palestinians who immediately fled back into Gaza.

It added that the strike was also in retaliation for repeated Palestinian attempts to damage the border fence and "security infrastructure" during ongoing border protests.

At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip since mass protests and clashes broke out on March 30, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry.

No Israelis have been killed during that time.

Low-level demonstrations along the border have continued since protests peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians died as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass incursions into its territory.

It accuses Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.</s>Israel announced Sunday it had begun working on a barrier off the Mediterranean coast to prevent the possibility of infiltrations by sea from the Gaza Strip.



The "new and impenetrable" barrier being built off the Zikim beach, a few kilometers north of Gaza, is in effect a fortified breakwater topped with barbed wire, the defense ministry said in a statement.



In the last Gaza war in 2014, Israeli forces killed four Hamas fighters who had managed to infiltrate by sea.



Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass incursions into its territory.

...</s>Jerusalem: Israel Defence Minister on Sunday announced that construction had begun on a marine barrier with the Gaza Strip extending into the Mediterranean Sea. Avigdor Liberman said in a statement that the barrier aimed to prevent any attempts by Palestinians in Gaza to enter Israeli territory through the sea, Efe news reported.

"This is an additional setback for Hamas, which has lost another strategic capability that it has invested massive amounts in developing. We will continue to protect the citizens of Israel with might and sophistication," Liberman said.

The barrier is to consist of three layers, one of which is to be underwater, and is expected to be completed within a year, the statement added.

During Israel`s 2014 assault on Gaza, members of the military wing of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that governs the Gaza Strip, managed to swim to Israeli territory and launch an attack on Israeli army installation before being killed.

Israeli authorities are also constructing an underground barrier beneath the Gaza-Israel boundary to stop Hamas from digging tunnels into Israeli territory.

An independent inquiry into the 2014 war in Gaza by the UN Human Rights Council concluded that "the tunnels were only used to conduct attacks directed at IDF (Israeli army) positions in Israel in the vicinity of the Green Line, which are legitimate military targets."</s>Israeli tank fire at an Islamic Jihad observation post killed two militants from the group in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, Palestinian officials said.

 The Gazan health ministry identified those killed as Hussein al-Amour, 25, and Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, 28. The incident happened east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, a ministry spokesman said.

 A statement from the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, claimed the two as members.

 Islamic Jihad is the second-most powerful armed group in the Gaza Strip, after Hamas, which runs the Palestinian enclave. Israel´s military said in a statement that the tank fire came after soldiers detonated an explosive device that had been placed near the border fence, targeting its troops.

 It said the explosive device had been hidden inside a pair of fence cutters.

 Separately on Saturday night, Israeli aircraft struck two targets belonging to Hamas, but there were no reports of casualties.

 The military said the operation was in response to a brief incursion across the border earlier in the day by Palestinians who immediately fled back into Gaza.

 It added that the strike was also in retaliation for repeated Palestinian attempts to damage the border fence and “security infrastructure” during ongoing border protests.

 At least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip since mass protests and clashes broke out on March 30, according to figures from the Gazan health ministry.

 No Israelis have been killed during that time.

 Low-level demonstrations along the border have continued since protests peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians died as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

 Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass incursions into its territory. —AFP</s>According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, an underwater barrier which will stretch from the southern Israeli community of Zikim into the Mediterranean Sea, will serve as a blockade to ward off Hamas.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

"This is the only obstacle of its kind in the world, which will effectively block the possibility of infiltrating into Israel via the sea, and this will further thwart Hamas' loss of strategic capabilities,” Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman was reported by the Jerusalem Post as saying.

At the time, the Israel Defense Forces succeeded in stopping the commandos, but since then Hamas has reportedly expanded their unit to over 1,500 commandos.

In light of that development, the Israeli Navy is now focused on training for underwater infiltrations and in 2015 the navy deployed a new system of underwater sensors called “Aqua Shield.”

The new sensors were placed to alert the Navy of any “suspicious underwater movement”.

The Gaza border continues to remain unstable as thousands of Palestinians have been demonstrating along the Gaza-Israel security fence since March.

Over 116 civilians have been killed and thousands have been wounded, drawing foreign censure.</s>Israel’s Defense Ministry has started construction on an underwater barrier which will stretch from the southern Israeli community of Zikim into the Mediterranean Sea to stave off Hamas infiltration by sea.



According to the head of the Ministry of Defense Engineering and Construction Department, Erez Cohen, the work on the naval barrier is expected to be completed by the end of the year. 





The barrier is made up of three layers including one below the sea level, a layer of armored stone and a third layer in the form of a mound. In addition to the three layers, a fence will surround the breakwater in order to provide a final security measure."This is the only obstacle of its kind in the world, which will effectively block the possibility of infiltrating into Israel via the sea, and this will further thwart Hamas' loss of strategic capabilities,” said Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman.The decision to build an upgraded naval barrier was decided upon after five Hamas naval commandos, called frogmen, tried to infiltrate Kibbutz Zikim during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, armed with automatic weapons, fragmentation grenades and several types of explosives devices. They were engaged and killed by the IDF in a combined attack from the sea, ground and air.Hamas has significantly expanded their naval commando unit to a reported 1,500 frogmen in the four years since the last conflict, and the new barrier, which has been designed to withstand severe sea conditions and serve the defense establishment for many years, is aimed at preventing similar incidents.The border with Gaza is Israel’s most explosive, and thousands of Palestinians have demonstrated along the Gaza-Israel security fence since March 30. At least 116 have been killed by IDF fire and over 13,000 wounded since the “Great March of Return” began.Palestinians take part in protests for the "Great March of Return" in Gaza (credit: Reuters)In February, a senior naval officer warned that Hamas was increasingly turning to the sea to carry out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, saying that “Hamas sees potential in the sea like they saw potential in their tunnels.”The Navy has placed more emphasis on training for underwater infiltrations and in 2015, the Navy began deploying dozens of sensors from a new system named "Aqua Shield," which can detect and alert the Navy to suspicious underwater movement. The sensors were placed on the seafloor near Gaza and Lebanon's water borders with Israel.Last April, Israeli authorities foiled an attempt to smuggle some 30 professional-grade scuba gear into the Gaza Strip. The scuba gear, which is believed to have been destined for Hamas frogmen, were hidden in a shipment of sporting gear heading into the coastal enclave through the Kerem Shalom crossing.Importing dual-use goods into the Gaza Strip, such as wetsuits, requires a special permit.</s>Israel has begun working on an ocean barrier aimed at preventing Palestinians in Gaza from infiltrating its territory, Israeli defence ministry has said.

The barrier, which consists of fortified breakwater topped with barbed wire, is being constructed a few kilometres north of Gaza and is due to be completed by the end of the year.

"This is the only barrier of its kind in the world, which will effectively block the possibility of infiltrating into Israel by sea," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement on Sunday.

"This is further thwarting Hamas, which will lose another strategic capability [after] investing huge sums in its development."

According to Israeli media, the defence ministry ordered the construction of the barrier in the aftermath of the 2014 war with Gaza and after discovering that Hamas fighters had successfully entered Israel by sea.

The coastal enclave has been the subject of a blockade imposed by Israel and, to a lesser degree, Egypt since 2007 when Hamas took control of the territory.

Israeli naval vessels have made it difficult for Gaza's fishermen to fish beyond a certain point, usually set at six nautical miles or about 11km and have opened fire on Palestinians ships in the past.

An attack targeting an observation post on Sunday killed at least three people, including two fighters from the Islamic Jihad movement.

According to the Islamic Jihad group, two men were part of their armed wing, called the al-Quds Brigades.

Two of those killed were identified as 25-year-old Hussein al-Amour, 28-year-old Abdul Haleem al-Naqa, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A third person, 25-year-old Naseem Marwan al-Amour, succumbed later to his wounds.

A day earlier, Israeli aircraft attacked two targets belonging to the Hamas movement, although no casualties were reported.

More than 118 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since mass protests demanding the right of return began in late March.

Yahiya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, has called for further mass protests on June 5, the anniversary of the end of the 1967 Six Day War, which saw the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem captured by Israel.</s>Baku. 30 May. REPORT.AZ/ The cabinet unanimously approved Avigdor Lieberman's appointment as defense minister, as part of a deal between Yisrael Beiteinu and the Likud to expand the governing coalition.

Report informs the approval comes after a week-long conflict between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Naftali Bennett, who threatened to veto Lieberman's appointment if his demands for reform of the security cabinet were not addressed.

A proposal on security cabinet reform by Health Minister Yaakov Litzman was accepted by both Netanyahu and Bennett late Sunday night, effectively ending the crisis and paving the way for paving the way the cabinet's approval of Lieberman as defense minister.

"Starting tomorrow morning, the security cabinet in Israel will no longer be without an officer to brief the minister," Education Minister Naftali Bennett said after the crisis was resolved. "It was possible to reach an agreement a week ago, but it’s good that it happened now."

In addition to the appointment of Lieberman, Sofa Landver (Yisrael Beiteinu) took the post of immigrant absorption minister and Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) was appointed minister without portfolio in the Prime Minister's Office.

The ministerial appointments will go before the Knesset for final approval Monday afternoon.
Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman says that Israel has started building an "unique obstacle" along the Zikim beach, a three-story-high kind of breakwater designed to cut off the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip from access to Israel by the sea. The "impenetrable" structure made of stone and fence is expected to be completed before the end of this year.