TEL AVIV — Israel's military has established a lethal zone as pressure mounts along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Military sources said Southern Command has set up a 300-meter lethal zone in the eastern Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. They said any unauthorized Palestinian found in the zone would be shot by Israeli troops.

The sources said the lethal zone was formed amid the spate of Hamas attacks on the Israeli security fence along the border of the Gaza Strip. They said Hamas has been organizing infiltration squads and constructing tunnels in the eastern Gaza Strip.

Hamas has sought to conduct a series of mass-casualty strikes along the Israeli-Gaza border. The sources said Hamas and Palestinian militias have been coordinating reconnaissance and attacks.

Israeli troops have been operating in eastern Gaza and striking suspected Palestinian squads. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have responded with missile and mortar strikes on Israeli communities.

"Hamas is growing stronger, and we are losing our deterrence," Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister and military chief of staff, said.

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