The underground barrier that Israel has started building on the border with the Gaza Strip will stretch into the Mediterranean Sea to prevent Hamas infiltration by sea. The head of the Southern Command Maj-Gen. Eyal Zamir told reporters that “this wall can potentially lead to a dangerous escalation” despite the fact that it is being built entirely in Israeli territory. Hamas has invested a huge amount of money and effort into building tunnels that can cross into Israel. They used these tunnels to infiltrate into Israel in 2014 during the last war between Israel and Hamas. Zamir said that after that war, Israel knew it needed to come up with a solution and this barrier is the answer. It will have a system of advanced sensor and monitoring devices to detect tunnels. Construction is expected to cost close to $800 million and it is expected to be completed within two years.