Israel nears completion of vast trench dividing Gaza Strip

The Israeli military is nearing completion of a vast trench and earthen barrier project designed to divide the Gaza Strip effectively in two. According to a report by the Israel-based newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, fortification works are concentrated in the eastern sector of the Yellow Line, which separates Israeli-occupied zones from areas under Hamas control.

Alongside the deep trench excavated to block vehicular passage, an elevated earthen berm is being erected using excavated soil. Israeli units are also conducting ground drilling at regular intervals along the route to detect cross-border tunnels extending into Israeli territory.

Controlling approximately 70% of Gaza’s territory, Israeli forces are consolidating their occupation area through this fortification line.

Excavations exceed designated boundary line

The plan to partition Gaza was first detected via satellite imagery in July of this year, revealing that construction extended hundreds of metres beyond the Yellow Line.

According to data cited by the Haaretz newspaper, the trench advances more than one kilometre beyond that designated line at certain critical points in southern Gaza.

Exceeding the line by roughly 400 metres in the Khan Younis area, the line extends along Salah al-Din Road, the primary transit artery between northern and southern Gaza.

In the Rafah sector, excavations reportedly reach approximately 1,300 metres beyond the Yellow Line. Through these works, which have continued without interruption for months, the Israeli military is expanding its de facto presence on the ground.

Permanent military bases built beyond ceasefire boundary

The Yellow Line was defined under the ceasefire agreement signed last year as the withdrawal boundary to which Israeli troops would pull back in the initial phase.

However, despite the plan announced by the US in October 2025 and the ceasefire process, Israeli forces advanced beyond the boundary and constructed permanent military positions along the line.

The Israeli administration conditions subsequent withdrawal phases on the disarmament of Hamas. Palestinian factions, conversely, stress that they will not surrender weapons unless an independent Palestinian state is established.

Yedioth Ahronoth pointed out that, despite the war, Hamas maintains administrative control across certain sectors of Gaza. The newspaper carried the headline: “Three years after October 7, Hamas still governs Gaza.”

Israeli officials speaking to the newspaper noted that they would continue targeting Hamas members, stating: “We will act against them and kill them one by one.” The officials claimed they were awaiting suitable operational conditions to limit civilian casualties.

The Gaza Ministry of Health stated that more than 1,450 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October 2025 ceasefire plan.

While the flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave remains restricted to low levels, the transit of emergency medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, is being curtailed.

According to data from the Gaza Civil Defence, three people, including a woman and a child, were injured on Monday, 5 October, in an attack on a tent encampment near Khan Younis.

In an Israeli military strike on a vehicle in Deir al-Balah on 4 October, a Palestinian director of a Turkish aid organisation was killed.