Israel moves ahead on underground wall around Gaza

Israel is pushing ahead with a project to build a giant underground wall around the Gaza Strip to block tunnels that could be used for attacks, the army said on Thursday. The project comes after the government faced heavy criticism over Hamas's use of tunnels in the 2014 Gaza war, with a state inquiry earlier this year accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army top brass of being unprepared for the threat. "In the coming months, we are going to accelerate the construction of the barrier," Major General Eyal Zamir told journalists. "We hope that construction will be complete in two years." it was reported that the wall, comprising concrete planks and sensors, will stretch some 64 kilometres (40 miles).