Israel has built more than 25 kilometers of earthen barriers inside Gaza since the “ceasefire,” according to an analysis by Forensic Architecture—physically dividing Gaza along the line of Israeli control and further corralling Palestinians into less than half of the enclave.

In the more than seven months since Hamas and Israel signed a ceasefire agreement that was supposed to end Israel’s genocidal assault in Gaza and set the stage for a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops, Israel has instead been fortifying military bases in the eastern part of the territory it controls and constructing a physical barrier walling off Palestinians from most of the Gaza Strip, according to the research, which draws on satellite imagery and other data.

As part of the October 2025 deal, Israeli troops withdrew to the “yellow line” that runs roughly parallel to Gaza’s coastline and cuts off large chunks of territory at the northern and southern ends of the enclave, giving Israel control of 53% of the Gaza Strip. Since then, they have encroached further west and now effectively control over 60% of the territory. In January, Drop Site News first published findings by Forensic Architecture that showed Israel had begun constructing berms—large, raised mounds of earth—to create a physical separation between the area it controls and the area the Palestinian population has been forced into.

The latest findings show that the berms have been extended to create a mostly unbroken wall. Much of the berm runs west of the yellow line, going even deeper into Palestinian territory. In places like Jabaliya, the Israeli military has created a “buffer zone” along the yellow line, destroying everything in a 300 meter vicinity and creating an effective no man’s land west of the line.

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