Israel builds ‘massive’ wall along its border

Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory.

The Israeli military insists the entire barrier is being constructed in Israeli territory, and the UN peacekeeping force agrees.

Hezbollah has never fully accepted the border, and a senior Israeli military official stressed the need for the wall, saying that while Israeli intelligence closely monitors the militant group, “we are prepared for the possibility that they will surprise us.”

Israel’s military conducted a large-scale drill this week simulating a future conflict with Hezbollah, who it fought in a monthlong war in 2006.

Israelis fear there could be a renewal of hostilities as the civil war winds down in neighbouring Syria, where the Iran-backed militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad’s forces.