Satellite images reveal Israel expanding Gaza military sites

However, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has warned that the “New Rafah” plan is a mechanism for demographic re-engineering and forced displacement.

The plan involves dividing Gaza into population blocks and closed military zones. Palestinians would be confined to “cities” of residential caravans, each packing roughly 25,000 people into a single square kilometre (0.4sq miles). These “cities” are to be surrounded by fences and checkpoints, and access to essential services would be contingent upon passing Israeli-US security screenings – a model Euro-Med likened to ghettos.

Satellite images of an Israeli military site in Khan Younis show continuous development, paving and construction of fortifications in March 2026 [File: Planet Labs]

A new, permanent border

Gaza’s “yellow line” “ceasefire” boundary is being transformed into a permanent frontier. In Beit Lahiya in the north, satellite images from March 4 show the construction of a dirt berm along the “yellow line” and another running parallel to it and constructed more than 580 metres (634 yards) into what the “ceasefire” designates as land where Palestinians are supposed to live – a significant encroachment beyond the designated line.

In December, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir defined the line as a “new border”. Defence Minister Israel Katz later declared Israel would “never leave Gaza”, promising to establish military-agricultural settlements.

Al Jazeera’s investigation further documented that Israel has secretly moved concrete boundary markers hundreds of metres deeper into areas designated for Palestinians.

Traces of Israeli military vehicles operating beyond a dirt berm on the ‘yellow line’ in northern Gaza are seen on March 10, 2026, in clear violation of ‘ceasefire’ demarcations [File: Sentinel Hub]

A bloody ‘ceasefire’

Despite the October “ceasefire”, violence persists. Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported 750 deaths and more than 2,090 injuries since the “ceasefire” began, bringing the total death toll since the October 2023 start of Israel’s genocidal war to more than 72,300. An independent study in The Lancet medical journal suggested the actual death toll could be significantly higher. It estimated more than 75,000 deaths from “direct violence” by early 2025 alone.

An Al Jazeera analysis found that Israel has launched attacks on 160 out of the 182 days of the “ceasefire”. These attacks often involve incursions aimed at levelling areas designated for Palestinian habitation.

Efforts to document these developments are facing unprecedented hurdles. This month, Planet Labs announced an “indefinite” ban on images from conflict zones after a US government request. Other providers, like Vantor, have imposed similar restrictions, severely limiting the ability of media and human rights groups to monitor the situation in Gaza.

As of this month, humanitarian assessments by aid groups, including Oxfam and Save the Children, have given the Trump reconstruction plan a failing grade, saying it has failed to “demonstrate a clear impact on conditions inside Gaza”.

(Al Jazeera)