Military closes area around Gaza ahead of Likud-backed settler march into Strip

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday morning declared the entire Gaza periphery region a closed military zone, ahead of a mass march to the area by a right-wing group seeking to reestablish Israeli settlements inside the Strip.

The closed zone, in effect from 8 a.m. Sunday to 8 a.m. Monday, covers the entire Gaza periphery from Yad Mordechai, north of the enclave, to Route 232 to its east all the way to Kerem Shalom at its extreme south.

The March of Thousands, organized by the Nachala settler group, was expected to depart from the Yad Mordechai area at 5 p.m. Sunday, with the goal of “returning home after 21 years,” according to organizers, a reference to the 2005 evacuation of Israel’s Gush Katif settlement bloc inside Gaza.

A military source said the closed zone was declared due to the marchers’ “intentions of entering the Gaza Strip illegally.”

A poster advertising the march lists over a dozen right-wing groups and political parties as co-sponsors, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

Several members of the cabinet are expected to attend the march, according to the flyer, including Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, among other Likud Ministers, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also in charge of the Defense Ministry’s administration of settlements in the West Bank.

23 שרים וחברי כנסת יצעדו איתנו לעזה מחר ????????????????

בנוסף יצעד איתנו ראש עיריית שדרות – אלון דוידי ????

שמים חותמת על התוחמת – מתיישבים בעזה עכשיו! ????????????

יום ראשון הקרוב | ה' אב (19.7) | 17:00 | צומת יד מרדכי pic.twitter.com/UEJDZzhCx7

— נחלה – תנועה להתיישבות ???? (@T_Nachala) July 18, 2026

Several other coalition ministers and lawmakers have consistently called for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of Jewish settlements in the area, with Smotrich saying recently that Israel has prepared plans to establish three settlements, and all that is needed to move ahead with the project is Netanyahu’s approval.

The premier has repeatedly vowed that Israel won’t resettle Gaza, a move that would directly contradict the terms of the US-backed peace plan and would enrage the international community.

The army regularly issues closed military zone orders as a crowd control measure.

Nachala is a radical organization that has helped establish illegal settlements in the West Bank and has advocated for the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population of Gaza ever since the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.

Similar events staged by Nachala in the past have resulted in efforts by some activists to break into Gaza and set up outposts there, although all such attempts have been thwarted by the IDF.

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