Israel building earthen barrier in Gaza to entrench division of the enclave

The construction of the barrier has fuelled Palestinian fears that most of Gaza will never be relinquished by Israel.The Israeli army is building a giant earthen barrier to separate the more than 50 percent of Gaza under its control from the rest of the enclave, satellite images show, fuelling Palestinian fears that most of the territory will never be relinquished by Israel.The barrier consists of an earth berm and a trench and extends well beyond the so-called “yellow line” that is supposed to demarcate the border between Israeli-controlled and Palestinian territory under a US-backed ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How will Khalil al-Hayya’s leadership shape Hamas?list 2 of 3Palestine weekly: Ahead of elections, Israel doubles down on attackslist 3 of 3‘Creeping death’: Israel weaponises ‘Yellow Line’ to annex Gazaend of listHaaretz said that in Khan Younis the barrier is about 400 metres (quarter of a mile) past the yellow line, and at one point in the Rafah area it reaches approximately 1,300 metres (4,260 feet) beyond the line.Built over the past few months, the barrier is already longer than 23km (14 miles), according to the AP news agency. The entire Gaza Strip is around 40km (25 miles) long.The barrier cuts through Palestinian communities whose homes, infrastructure, and agricultural land have already been 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 that they will never be able to return to their land, and some Israeli officials have openly said they intend to appropriate some of it.“I intend to establish three Nahal outposts, which is also a military entity, in those places that were in northern Gaza,” Defence Minister Israel-katz" class="entity-link entity-person" data-entity-id="4249" data-entity-type="person">Israel Katz told Channel 14 last week