The Israeli military is constructing a massive earthen barrier to separate the more than 50 percent of Gaza under its control from the rest of the enclave, satellite images reveal, fueling Palestinian fears that most of the territory will never be relinquished by Israel.
The barrier, consisting of an earth berm and a trench, extends well beyond the so-called “yellow line” that was supposed to demarcate the border between Israeli-controlled and Palestinian territory under a US-backed ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025, according to Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. In Khan Younis, the barrier is about 400 meters past the yellow line, and in the Rafah area it reaches approximately 1,300 meters beyond the line.
Built over the past few months, the barrier is already longer than 23 kilometers (14 miles), according to the AP. The entire Gaza Strip is around 40 kilometers (25 miles) long. The barrier cuts through Palestinian communities whose homes, infrastructure, and agricultural land were destroyed during Israel’s genocidal war that began in 2023.
Israel has also created new roads and established bases on the ruins of Palestinian towns. Palestinians fear they will never be able to return to their land, and some Israeli officials have openly stated their intention to appropriate parts of it. “I intend to establish three Nahal outposts, which is also a military entity, in those places that were in northern Gaza,” Defense Minister Israel Katz told Channel 14 last week.
On Sunday, thousands of Israelis, including settlers and right-wing activists, marched towards the border with Gaza, calling on the government to re-establish Israeli settlements. “We are walking today to tell the government of Israel and show all the world that this land belongs to us and that Gaza really belongs to us and that we want to go back there,” said march participant Daniel Sellem.
Palestinians in Gaza, meanwhile, are confined to crowded tent camps in the coastal area west of the yellow line, where they continue to be targeted by Israeli airstrikes and face shortages of aid and supplies. When asked by AP to comment on the satellite images, the Israeli military said it was building a physical barrier in the area of the yellow line.
The ceasefire deal envisaged the yellow line as a temporary demarcation pending the Israeli army’s eventual withdrawal to the edges of Gaza, to be replaced by an international force. But Israel has largely ignored the truce and appears to be entrenching itself, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a permanent border.
Israeli forces have killed Palestinians who approached or crossed the line. The military says it fires on those believed to be militants threatening its troops, but those killed have included children and other civilians seemingly unaware of the line. Some soldiers have admitted they do not always know who they are firing on and have orders to kill anyone crossing the boundary.
Source: www.aljazeera.com