The Israeli military is constructing a massive earthen barrier that already stretches more than 23 kilometres through the Gaza Strip, effectively separating the over 50 percent of the territory it controls from the areas where most Palestinians are confined. Satellite images analysed by Planet Labs PBC and confirmed by the Israel Defense Forces show the berm running along the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Construction has accelerated in recent weeks, with a southern segment extended by more than two kilometres in the first half of July alone, cutting through the ruins of Rafah and approaching the tent camps of al-Mawasi.

According to the IDF, the barrier forms part of a “security zone” equipped with intelligence and technological assets, intended to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and nearby communities. The military told the Associated Press that the structure makes the no-go line clear to Palestinians and reduces friction. Viewed from Tel Aviv, the berm is a defensive measure necessitated by Hamas’s failure to begin disarmament, a core requirement of the truce that was due to start in early 2026. Hamas, for its part, maintains that any partial disarmament is conditional on Israel permitting at least partial reconstruction of Gaza, a step that has not materialised.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has denounced what it calls an “intensification” of Israeli attacks, recording at least 57 Palestinian deaths between 13 and 20 July, including six children and eight women. Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan stated that 34 of those killed were “far away from the Israeli-imposed yellow line,” and warned that deliberately attacking civilians constitutes a war crime. Palestinian factions have described the strikes as systematic aggression and called on mediators and guarantor states to enforce the ceasefire. Gaza’s health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable, reports that at least 1,168 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect, while the overall death toll since October 2023 has surpassed 73,000.

The barrier’s rapid expansion, combined with the near-total demolition of built-up areas on the Israeli-controlled side, is fuelling concerns in Arab capitals and among international legal observers that the yellow line is hardening into a de facto internal border. Neither US Central Command, which monitors the ceasefire, nor the Board of Peace chaired by President Donald Trump, has commented on the construction. With the truce stalled and the diplomatic process deadlocked, the berm continues to advance, further shrinking the space available to over two million Palestinians and dimming prospects for a return to the pre-war status quo.