Occupied Jerusalem: Israel says it has started reinforcing its border fence with the Gaza Strip, erecting a galvanised steel barrier six metres high that will run the length of territory.

Israel’s Defense Ministry issued a statement Sunday saying it had commenced construction of an above-ground barrier comes in addition to a subterranean wall aimed at thwarting Hamas attack tunnels beneath the border.

The fence’s construction comes after months of mass protests by Palestinians in Gaza along the border calling for the right of refugees to return to land they were kicked off of by Israel.

Nearly 190 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since they began last March.

In 2000, the Israel began building a separation barrier or what Palestinians refer to as an Apartheid Wall around the Occupied West Bank.

The wall has been highly condemned for illegally grabbing Palestinian land and separating families on either side.

The wall cuts deep into chunks of Palestinian territory meant for a future state creating bleak realities on the ground.