Israel’s New Sand Wall: A Divisive Barrier Confining 2 Million Palestinians in Gaza

Original article: La nueva frontera impuesta por Israel: un muro de arena parte Gaza y confina a 2 millones de palestinos

Israel intensifies its aggression against Gaza with a sand wall that divides the territory and confines two million Palestinians to an ever-shrinking area.

In recent months, the Israeli military has constructed a barrier several meters high along the so-called Yellow Line, a de facto border that not only physically separates Gazan geography but also symbolizes a new phase in an occupation that already encompasses more than 60% of the Strip, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening to extend this to 70%.

The construction of this sand structure, of which 23 kilometers have already been completed, reflects a strategy of silent and progressive annexation that, according to the Associated Press, includes areas taken by Israeli forces that have been destroyed both by continuous bombardments against Gaza and by the impact of heavy machinery.

«Some images indicate that the barrier is being erected in uninhabited areas, where only rubble or unusable infrastructure remain,» reported ElDiario.Es.

According to satellite records from Planet Labs, the wall spans significant sectors of the Palestinian enclave, marking a clear division between the eastern areas controlled by Israeli troops and the western regions. This infrastructure is the realization of a 20-point plan imposed by the United States for the ceasefire of October 2025, which promised an Israeli withdrawal in a second phase that was never executed and on which the Trump administration did not exert pressure for compliance.

Tel Aviv claims that the wall, equipped with surveillance and espionage technology, aims to prevent «infiltrations» by Hamas militants and protect its troops and border communities. However, the wall, which stands between 10 to 15 meters high, not only confines the Palestinian population—approximately 2 million people crammed into the west—but also transforms the construction area into a death perimeter.

Witnesses and family members have reported to EFE how troops shot daily at the displaced persons’ camps in Mawasi, southwards, during construction activities. One of these shots, which pierced the plastic roof of a tent, claimed the life of Moataz, a 9-year-old boy, while he was with his mother.

Escalating Violence

The construction of the barrier has been accompanied by a surge in violence that has claimed more than 1,100 Palestinian lives since the «intense Israeli bombing campaign that concluded in October 2025, which resulted in over 70,000 deaths, including more than 20,000 minors,» reported El Diario.Es.

It also noted that airstrikes against alleged Hamas targets have intensified near the Yellow Line, where civilians—including children—are the most frequent casualties.

The situation becomes even more volatile with the resurgence of the settler movement. Hundreds of ultranationalist activists, supported by government ministers like the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, have marched to the border fence demanding the re-establishment of illegal settlements in Gaza, dismantled in 2005.

The lack of intervention by Israeli security forces in the face of this provocation reveals an official complicity that turns the sand barrier into the starting point of a new and dangerous phase of colonization. What was once a temporary barricade is shaping up as the foundation for a new political map in Gaza, one enforced by power, where separation and confinement are the norm.

Featured image: EFE Agency.