Pictures present Israel constructing everlasting navy bases in Gaza as US-backed reconstruction plans stall.
The USA has proposed plans to rebuild Rafah, a metropolis in southern Gaza that was flattened by two years of Israeli bombardment. It has been touted because the centrepiece of a US-Israeli imaginative and prescient for a post-war Gaza, however satellite tv for pc photographs recommend the challenge has stalled earlier than even breaking floor.
An Al Jazeera Digital Investigations Unit examination of Planet Labs and Sentinel Hub satellite tv for pc imagery revealed that Israeli navy fortifications are increasing at a relentless tempo throughout Gaza, significantly in Rafah.
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Evaluation of images from February 25 to March 15 confirmed that whereas rubble removing has basically ceased in Beit Hanoon within the north and Rafah, Israeli forces are systematically entrenching a everlasting navy actuality throughout the devastated enclave.
Whereas civilian reconstruction has slowed, Israeli navy building has accelerated. Satellite tv for pc imagery from March 10 exhibits intensive clearing and fortification on the strategic al-Muntar hilltop in Shujayea, a neighbourhood in Gaza Metropolis, and outposts in Khan Younis in Gaza’s south.
In central Gaza, Sentinel imagery from March 15 revealed ongoing work on a trench and dust berm reaching so far as the Maghazi camp close to Deir el-Balah. In Juhor ad-Dik, new roads now hyperlink established navy websites to newly levelled areas, suggesting the creation of everlasting outposts.
These findings align with a late 2025 investigation by Forensic Structure that recognized 48 Israeli navy websites inside Gaza – 13 of which have been constructed after an October “ceasefire”. These websites have advanced into everlasting bases with paved roads, watchtowers and fixed communication hyperlinks to Israel’s home navy community.
The ‘New Rafah’ phantasm
On the World Financial Discussion board within the Swiss metropolis of Davos in January, Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, showcased AI-generated visions of a “New Rafah” that includes skyscrapers and luxurious resorts. Trump additional promoted this “Center East Riviera” by a 20-point plan, promising $10bn in funding by way of the Board of Peace, which he has established as a possible rival of the United Nations.
Nonetheless, the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has warned that the “New Rafah” plan is a mechanism for demographic re-engineering and compelled displacement.
The plan entails dividing Gaza into inhabitants blocks and closed navy zones. Palestinians can be confined to “cities” of residential caravans, every packing roughly 25,000 folks right into a single sq. kilometre (0.4sq miles). These “cities” are to be surrounded by fences and checkpoints, and entry to important providers can be contingent upon passing Israeli-US safety screenings – a mannequin Euro-Med likened to ghettos.
![An Israeli military site in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, shows continuous development, paving, and fortification in March 2026. [Planet laba]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/صورة-10-copy-1776587292.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C433&quality=80)
A brand new, everlasting border
Gaza’s “yellow line” “ceasefire” boundary is being remodeled right into a everlasting frontier. In Beit Lahiya within the north, satellite tv for pc photographs from March 4 present the development of a mud berm alongside the “yellow line” and one other operating parallel to it and constructed greater than 580 metres (634 yards) into what the “ceasefire” designates as land the place Palestinians are presupposed to stay – a big encroachment past the designated line.
In December, Israeli Chief of Workers Eyal Zamir defined the road as a “new border”. Defence Minister Israel Katz later declared Israel would “by no means depart Gaza”, promising to determine military-agricultural settlements.
Al Jazeera’s investigation additional documented that Israel has secretly moved concrete boundary markers lots of of metres deeper into areas designated for Palestinians.
![Traces of Israeli military vehicles are seen operating beyond the designated dirt berm in northern Gaza on March 10, 2026, in clear violation of ceasefire demarcations. [Al Jazeera/Sentinel Hub]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/INTERACTIVE-Gaza-Deir-el-Balah-1776591213.png?quality=80)
A bloody ‘ceasefire’
Regardless of the October “ceasefire”, violence persists. Gaza’s Ministry of Well being reported 750 deaths and greater than 2,090 accidents for the reason that “ceasefire” started, bringing the overall loss of life toll for the reason that October 2023 begin of Israel’s genocidal struggle to greater than 72,300. An unbiased examine in The Lancet medical journal suggested the precise loss of life toll may very well be considerably greater. It estimated greater than 75,000 deaths from “direct violence” by early 2025 alone.
An Al Jazeera analysis discovered that Israel has launched assaults on 160 out of the 182 days of the “ceasefire”. These assaults usually contain incursions aimed toward levelling areas designated for Palestinian habitation.
Efforts to doc these developments are dealing with unprecedented hurdles. This month, Planet Labs announced an “indefinite” ban on photographs from battle zones after a US authorities request. Different suppliers, like Vantor, have imposed comparable restrictions, severely limiting the power of media and human rights teams to watch the state of affairs in Gaza.
As of this month, humanitarian assessments by assist teams, together with Oxfam and Save the Kids, have given the Trump reconstruction plan a failing grade, saying it has did not “reveal a transparent influence on circumstances inside Gaza”.
