Mourners gather for a mass burial of around 100 Palestinians, including 62 children, whose remains where recovered from rubble, in Gaza City. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Image used for representational purposes only.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Israeli military is quietly but quickly building a giant earthen barrier separating the over 50% of the Gaza Strip it controls from the rest of the territory, according to satellite imagery, further entrenching the division of the tiny Palestinian enclave.

More than 23 Km (14 miles) have been constructed in recent months, running through Palestinian communities demolished by the military. That is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal strip, which is some 40 Km (25 miles) long and 11 Km (7 miles) wide, and home to over 2 million Palestinians.

When presented with the satellite images, Israel’s military confirmed to The Associated Press it has built a physical barrier in the area of the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. The line was envisioned in the U.S.-backed agreement as a temporary division of the territory pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal.

But as the truce stagnates, it appears Israel is digging in, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a border. Neither U.S. Central Command, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, nor the Board of Peace, the body led by U.S. President Donald Trump meant to eventually oversee Gaza, would comment on the barrier.

Along with the barrier, the military told AP it has developed a “security zone” around the line, equipped with intelligence and technological assets. It declined to give details on the route of the barrier when asked how far it would be extended. It said the barrier aimed to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and Israeli communities near Gaza.

Construction of the barrier is proceeding rapidly

Since the ceasefire deal took hold, Palestinians in Gaza have feared Israel would not return the area of Gaza it controls. But few appear to be aware of the berms now being built around them — because of the danger of even approaching that area.

A portion of the berm network in southern Gaza was extended by more than 2 km (1.2 miles) in two weeks this month, according to the satellite images provided by Planet Labs PBC. The berm was about 500 metres (0.3 miles) long on July 1. By July 15, it was about 2.4 km (1.5 miles), splicing the Israel-controlled ruins of the city of Rafah from Muwasi, site of some of the largest Palestinian tent camps.

If construction continues in its current direction, it will join up with the longest stretch of the barrier, which runs nearly unbroken for around 17 km (10 miles) from the southern city of Khan Younis to near Gaza City, in the north.

Construction began on that stretch in February, and it appears work to extend it further south is continuing, according to the satellite images. More than a kilometre (0.6 miles) was added between June 21 and July 7, running close to an Israeli military base built on the ruins of the town of Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis.

In the far north of Gaza, several unconnected stretches of berms run just outside the largely leveled town of Beit Lahia. The height of the berms in each place remains unclear. In some places, the barriers appear to run outside the yellow line.

Israel has mostly destroyed and depopulated the half of Gaza it controls

Gaza’s population has been crowded into the coastal area west of the yellow line, most living in squalid tent camps and dependent on aid.

On the other side of the line, satellite imagery shows that Israeli forces have leveled the vast majority of buildings using bulldozers and explosives, virtually erasing several towns and Rafah, once home to more than a quarter million people. They have carved new road networks and erected new bases on the ruins of Palestinian towns. Agricultural land has also been destroyed. The Israeli military says it is demolishing infrastructure used by Hamas.

The yellow line was never precisely defined, whether in the ceasefire deal or by Israeli or U.S. officials, and it has been inconsistently marked on the ground. The military told AP it is working to clearly mark the route of the yellow line to “reduce friction and prevent harm to uninvolved individuals”. Israeli forces have killed Palestinians who came close to the line or crossed it. The Israeli 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 said they don’t always know who they are firing on and have orders to kill anyone crossing the boundary.

Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, most in airstrikes and drone strikes around Gaza. The Israeli military says it is targeting militants. Militant attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers in the same period.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is eventually supposed to withdraw its troops further to the very edges of Gaza, to be replaced by an international security force. But implementation of the deal has been stalled for months. A former UN diplomat now in charge of coordinating the ceasefire has blamed Hamas’ failure to disarm. Sporadic talks to reach a formula for decommissioning its weapons appear to have made little progress, and Hamas accuses Israel in turn of violating the ceasefire.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by UN agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

Published – July 21, 2026 01:10 pm IST

Palestinians gather around a blacksmith shop in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood after it was hit by an Israeli military strike on July 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Palestinians gather around a car hit in an Israeli military strike that, according to health authorities, killed at least one person in Gaza City, Thursday, July 9, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City on May 15, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

At least 12 Palestinians, including two boys, a pregnant woman and eight police officers, were killed Sunday (March 15, 2026) by Israeli airstrikes in the war-torn Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said.

A strike Sunday (March 15, 2026) morning hit a house in the urban refugee camp of Nuseirat in central Gaza and killed four people, including a couple in their 30s and their 10-year son, according to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The woman had been pregnant with twins, the hospital said.

The fourth fatality, a 15-year-old neighbor, was taken to the Awda hospital in Nuseirat.

“We were sleeping and got up to the strike of a missile. The strike was strong,” said Mahmoud al-Muhtaseb, a neighbor. “There was no prior warning.” Another strike Sunday afternoon hit a police vehicle on the south-north Salah al-Din route at the entrance of the central town of Zawaida, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said.

The strike killed eight police officers, including Col. Iyad Ab Yousef, a senior police official in central Gaza, the ministry said.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies, confirmed the toll. It said 14 others were wounded.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on either strike.

Hamas oversees a police force that maintained a high degree of public security after the militants seized power in Gaza in 2007, while also cracking down on dissent.

The police largely melted away during the war as Israeli forces seized large areas of Gaza and targeted Hamas security forces with airstrikes.

But following an October ceasefire, they have reappeared in Gaza streets and reasserted control in areas not controlled by the Israeli military.

Killings continue despite ceasefire Sunday’s deaths were the latest fatalities among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since the ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has still seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 650 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Israel says it has responded to violations of the ceasefire or targeted wanted militants. But about half of those killed have been women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

They were among more than 72,200 Palestinians killed in the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The militant attack killed over 1,200 people and took over 250 others hostage.

The health ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire.

Israel to allow reopening of Rafah crossing Separately, Israel announced it will allow the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt starting Wednesday after more than two-week hiatus.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said in a statement that the crossing will resume operations with “limited” passenger traffic in both directions. No cargo will be allowed through the crossing, it said.

COGAT said procedures will be the same as before the crossing closed after Israel and the U.S. launched devastating strikes on Iran on February 28, triggering an expanding war in the region.

Since its opening earlier this year, Israel allowed a limited evacuation of patients and wounded people for treatment outside Gaza – a fraction of more than 20,000 requiring medical evacuations, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Some Palestinian who were treated in Egypt during the war were also allowed to return to the strip. Some of the returnees reported abuses by Israeli troops once they crossed the Palestinian gate of the crossing.

Published – March 16, 2026 04:25 am IST

Israel has said 37 aid organisations will be banned from operating in Gaza from Thursday (January 1, 2026) unless they comply with guidelines requiring detailed information on Palestinian staff, drawing criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.

Several NGOs have told AFP the new rules will have a major impact on food and medical shipments to Gaza, at a time when humanitarian organisations say the amount of aid getting in is inadequate to the devastated territory’s needs.

Israel’s deadline for NGOs to provide the details expires at midnight on Wednesday (December 31, 2025).

“They refuse to provide lists of their Palestinian employees because they know, just as we know, that some of them are involved in terrorism or linked to Hamas,” spokesman for the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Gilad Zwick told AFP, naming 37 NGOs that had so far failed to meet the new requirements.

“I highly doubt that what they haven’t done for 10 months, they will suddenly do in less than 12 hours,” Mr. Zwick said. “We certainly won’t accept any cooperation that is just for show, simply to get an extension.”

The Ministry had said in a statement on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) that the move was part of Israel’s decision to “strengthen and update” regulations governing the activities of international NGOs in the Palestinian territory.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since October, following a deadly war waged by Israel in response to Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.

For Israel, it says the new regulation aims to prevent bodies it accuses of supporting terrorism from operating in the Palestinian territories.

On Tuesday (December 30, 2025), Israel specified that “acts of de-legitimising Israel” or denial of events surrounding Hamas’ October 7 attack would be “grounds for license withdrawal”.

Israel has singled out international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), alleging that it had two employees who were members of Palestinian militant groups Islamic Jihad and Hamas.

Apart from MSF, some of the 37 NGOs to be hit with the ban are the Norwegian Refugee Council, World Vision International, CARE and Oxfam, according to the list given by Mr. Zwick.

‘Guarantee access’

On Wednesday (December 31, 2025), the United Nations rights chief Volker Turk described Israel’s decision as “outrageous”, calling on states to urgently insist Israel shift course.

“Israel’s suspension of numerous aid agencies from Gaza is outrageous,” he said in a statement, warning that “such arbitrary suspensions make an already intolerable situation even worse for the people of Gaza”.

The European Union also warned that Israel’s decision would block “life-saving” assistance from reaching Gazans.

“The EU has been clear: the NGO registration law cannot be implemented in its current form,” EU humanitarian chief Hadja Lahbib posted on X.

“IHL (international humanitarian law) leaves no room for doubt: aid must reach those in need,” Ms. Lahbib wrote.

On Tuesday (December 30, 2025), the Foreign Ministers of ten countries, including France and the United Kingdom, had already urged Israel to “guarantee access” to aid in the Gaza Strip, where they said the humanitarian situation remains “catastrophic.”

In a territory with 2.2 million inhabitants, “1.3 million people still require urgent shelter support,” the Ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said.

While a deal for a ceasefire that started on October 10 stipulated the entry of 600 trucks per day, only 100 to 300 are carrying humanitarian aid, according to NGOs and the United Nations.

COGAT, the Israeli Defence Ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said last week that on average 4,200 aid trucks enter Gaza weekly, which corresponds to around 600 daily.

Published – December 31, 2025 08:30 pm IST

Winter rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by two years of war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled for an expected meeting on Monday (December 29, 2025) with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida about the second phase of the ceasefire. The first phase that took effect on October 10 was meant to bring a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including shelter.

Mr. Netanyahu made no public statement as he departed.

Nowhere to escape

In the southern city of Khan Younis, blankets were soaked and clay ovens meant for cooking were swamped. Children wearing flip-flops waded through puddles. Some people used shovels or tin cans to remove water from tents. Others clawed at the ground to pry collapsed shelters from the mud.

“Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell,” said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. “The tent flew away. We do not know what to do or where to go.” She and family members tried to wring muddy blankets dry by hand.

“When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent,” said Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis. “These are the mattresses. They are all completely soaked.” She said her family is still reeling from her husband’s death less than two weeks ago.

“Where are the mediators? We do not want food. We do not want anything. We are exhausted. We just want mattresses and covers,” said Fatima Abu Omar as she tried to prop up a collapsing shelter.

At least 12 people, including a two-week-old infant, have died since December 13 from hypothermia or weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings, because they could collapse. But with much of the territory in rubble, there are few places to escape the rain. In July, the United Nations estimated that almost 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,266. The ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

The Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Aid groups call for more help

Humanitarian deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, according to aid organisations and an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military’s figures.

The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid said in the past week that 4,200 trucks with aid entered Gaza, plus eight garbage trucks to assist with sanitation, as well as tents and winter clothing. It refused to elaborate on the number of tents. Aid groups have said the need far outstrips the number that have entered.

Since the ceasefire began, around 72,000 tents and 403,000 tarps have entered, according to Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins,” Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the top UN group overseeing aid in Gaza, wrote on social media. “There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required.”

Ceasefire’s next phase

Though the ceasefire agreement has mostly held, its progress has slowed.

Israel has said it refuses to move to the next phase while the remains of the final hostage are still in Gaza. Hamas has said the destruction in Gaza has hampered efforts to find remains.

Challenges in the next phase include the deployment of an international stabilisation force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of the Hamas militant group and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of truce violations.

Published – December 29, 2025 05:55 am IST

Mourners carry bodies during the funeral of Hamas’s senior commander Raed Saed and his aides, who were killed in an Israeli strike a day earlier, in Gaza City, December 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters