Jan 23, 2026

The Israeli military is turning the yellow line that demarcates the more than half of the Gaza Strip it occupies and controls into a physical border. Analysis of satellite imagery by Forensic Architecture shows that the Israeli military has begun constructing earth berms—large, raised mounds of earth—in areas along the yellow line to create a physical separation between the Palestinian population forced to live in the western half of the enclave, and Israeli forces who occupy the eastern half.

Israeli troops withdrew to the yellow line after the so-called ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10. Since then, they have engaged in a combination of construction of military infrastructure and roads in the over 53% of the territory that it controls—alongside the systematic destruction of existing buildings.