Israel army refortifying border with Gaza: Hamas source

The Israeli army is erecting new barbed-wire fencing along the Gaza Strip's eastern border, a Hamas-affiliated security source told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

The source, speaking anonymously due to restrictions on talking to media, said Israeli troops -- backed by bulldozers -- had begun making incursions along different parts of the border since Tuesday.

According to the source, barbed-wire fencing is being erected on the Gaza side of the border in areas that witness frequent confrontations between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli army troops.

The move, the same source explained, comes amid ongoing Israeli preparations to counter a Palestinian mass demonstration -- dubbed the "Great Return March" -- planned for March 30.

Endorsed by major Palestinian political factions, the mass rally is intended to ratchet up pressure on Israel to lift its decade-long blockade of the Gaza Strip.