Israel built over 23 kilometres of barrier across Gaza, satellite images showed.
New Gaza barrier follows the ceasefire line, fuelling permanent border concerns.
Construction reshaped Israeli-controlled areas as the Gaza war continues.
Israel is rapidly constructing a large earthen barrier across the Gaza Strip, satellite imagery shows, cutting through Palestinian communities demolished by the military and deepening fears that the temporary ceasefire boundary is hardening into a permanent border, PTI reported.
More than 23 kilometres of the barrier have been built in recent months, running through the half of Gaza that Israeli forces currently control. That stretches to more than half the length of the coastal enclave, which measures roughly 40 kilometres from north to south and is home to over two million Palestinians. When presented with the satellite imagery by the Associated Press, the Israeli military confirmed the construction, saying the barrier was designed to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and communities near Gaza.
The longest unbroken stretch runs nearly 17 kilometres from the southern city of Khan Younis towards Gaza City in the north, with construction having begun in February. Satellite images provided by Planet Labs show that a section in southern Gaza more than doubled in length in just two weeks this month, extending from around 500 metres to 2.4 kilometres, effectively separating the Israeli-controlled ruins of Rafah from Muwasi, where some of the largest Palestinian tent camps are located. Additional unconnected sections are visible near the largely levelled town of Beit Lahia in the far north.
Ceasefire Boundary Appearing to Solidify
The barrier follows what is known as the yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. That line was intended as a temporary division pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal, but with the ceasefire stalled for months, it increasingly resembles a fixed frontier. Neither US Central Command, tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, nor the Trump-backed Board of Peace, which is meant to oversee Gaza's future, would comment on the construction.
On the Israeli-controlled side of the line, satellite images show that the military has demolished the vast majority of structures, carved new road networks and erected bases on the ruins of Palestinian towns including Rafah, which once housed more than a quarter of a million people. Israeli forces have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, mostly in airstrikes. Five Israeli soldiers have been killed by militant attacks in the same period.
The war began after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel's subsequent military offensive has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
