New satellite imagery published by Al Jazeera's Open Source Unit has documented what analysts describe as a systematic Israeli effort to establish a permanent military footprint inside the Gaza Strip, in direct contravention of the United States-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025.
The analysis, which examined satellite data through May 2026, identified 40 Israel Defense Forces (IDF) outposts constructed entirely after the ceasefire took effect, with an additional base under construction. These installations are not temporary observation posts but heavily fortified compounds connected by earthen berms, trenches, and internal military roads that encircle Palestinian population centers from multiple directions.
A Strategy of Encirclement
Palestinian political analyst Abdullah Aqrabawi told Al Jazeera that "the idea of occupation, control, and pushing borders forward has become the core of the Israeli security doctrine." The geographical distribution of the bases reveals a deliberate strategy of encirclement, severely restricting civilian movement and access to agricultural lands near Israeli deployment lines.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been explicit about territorial ambitions. In April 2025, he announced the creation of the so-called Morag Corridor, describing it as an additional security corridor dividing Gaza. Speaking at a youth military academy last week, Netanyahu told an audience that Israel now controls "60% of the Gaza Strip, more or less." When the crowd chanted for 100%, he responded: "Wait, let's go in order. First 70%. Let's start with that."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has framed the expansion as necessary for "crushing and cleaning" Gaza while "seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the state of Israel." Katz and other Israeli leaders advocate for a US-backed "voluntary migration" plan for Gaza's Palestinians, which critics—including human rights organizations—call a euphemism for ethnic cleansing, given that most of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants are descendants of Palestinians displaced during Israel's establishment in the late 1940s.
The satellite evidence comes amid a broader pattern of territorial expansion. Israel first colonized Gaza after the 1967 Six-Day War, dismantling its settlements in 2005 under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Far-right members of Netanyahu's government and settler movement leaders now openly call for re-colonization, a position that has drawn international condemnation but little concrete action from Washington.
The ceasefire agreement, based on a 21-point peace plan proposed by President Donald Trump, demanded an end to hostilities, immediate humanitarian aid entry, disarmament of Hamas, and a phased Israeli withdrawal. Instead, Israel's military infrastructure inside Gaza has expanded steadily. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 3,005 times since October 2025, resulting in over 900 Palestinian deaths and nearly 2,800 injuries.
Violence continues despite the truce. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that at least 119 Palestinians were killed in May 2026—the highest monthly total this year—including 19 children and 10 women. Israeli soldiers have acknowledged indiscriminate killings along the shifting "yellow line" that marks Israel's expanding control zone.
This week's report follows a separate Al Jazeera analysis published last week showing Israel's erasure of large swaths of southern Gaza, including cities, towns, farmland, and cemeteries—what the authors called an effort at "erasing geography and memory." Palestinian journalist Muhannad Qishta reflected: "Satellites photograph the destroyed buildings, but they cannot document the feeling of a human searching for their home to no avail. The hardest thing is not the destruction itself, but the stories buried beneath it."
The developments underscore the widening gap between Washington's rhetorical support for a two-state solution and the reality on the ground. As explored in a recent analysis on the ritualistic nature of US calls for a two-state solution, the Biden and Trump administrations have consistently failed to enforce ceasefire terms or challenge Israeli territorial expansion. Meanwhile, the broader regional dynamics—including the limits of UAE-Israel normalization and the deepening stalemate between Iran and the US-Israel axis—suggest that the Gaza crisis is becoming a permanent feature of the Middle Eastern landscape, with no clear exit strategy from any party.
