Israeli army beefs up security on Gaza borders

GAZA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli army beefed up security measures along the Gaza Strip's borders, Palestinian security sources said Saturday.

The new measures aim at expanding a 300-meter-wide buffer zone that Israel has collocated on Gaza's eastern and northern borders, the sources added.

The army installed a new observation tower near the closed Nahal Oz, which Israel has closed for nearly two years, the sources said, adding that the tower is the tallest in Gaza.

The army also sent more reconnaissance balloons over the area.

On Thursday, Israeli army destroyed several warehouses and installations during an incursion in eastern Gaza City.

The military operation took place in an industrial zone that has not been functioning since Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza in 2007, mainly blocking export.

The sources said that Thursday's operation was part of the new security measures. It comes weeks after a wave of cross-border violence, in which some 19 Palestinians, the majority of them members of Gaza's Hamas rulers, were killed and a rocket by Hamas killed an Israeli student.

The last surge of violence was the deadliest since the end of a three-week Israeli military operation here in January 2009, in which as many as 1,400 Palestinians were killed.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/23/c_13842812.htm.