Thousands of pro-colonization activists —about 10,000 according to the organizers—, accompanied by ministers from the ruling Likud party, have managed to cross up to four Israeli Army checkpoints in a march towards the Gaza Strip. Their goal is to access the Palestinian enclave to resume the colonization project, interrupted since 2005, when there was no longer an Israeli civilian presence in the area.
The Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, has marched alongside the participants as they passed the first checkpoint of the Israeli Armed Forces, entering the restricted military perimeter surrounding the Strip. The declared intention of the activists is to reach the former settlement of Gush Katif.
The so-called March of the Thousand, promoted by the colonization movement Nachala, has advanced overcoming four checkpoints practically without visible opposition from the deployed soldiers, despite the fact that the area had been declared restricted until Monday morning precisely in response to this call.
The first security cordon was located at Zikim beach. From there, the attendees separated into different columns to cross the dunes and thus evade the Police and military vehicles. Some groups have managed to reach the fence that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip, although for now it has not been confirmed if any of them have managed to enter Palestinian territory.
"More than ten thousand people in the March of the Thousand towards the Gaza area!" Nachala has proclaimed on social media. The organization has added that 28 ministers and Knesset members, part of the governing coalition, have joined the mobilization "to immediately establish Netzarim, Dogit, and Sinai Valley."
Military sources cited by 'The Times of Israel' have indicated that no authorization has been granted to these activists to access the restricted military area, which remains Israeli territory although it is very close to the border with the Gaza Strip.
"We settle in all the regions of the land that was given to our ancestors to show our enemies that it is not worth messing with us, to show a relevant photograph of victory," stated the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi, also from Likud. Karhi has urged to "root ourselves in all the lands given to our ancestors, including the Gaza region."
In parallel, the Israeli Armed Forces maintain a deployment over approximately 70% of the territory of the Gaza Strip, within the framework of the peace plan sponsored by the United States for the Palestinian enclave. This scheme contemplates a theoretical ceasefire in the offensive that began on October 7, 2023, which has left more than 73,200 deceased, 1,144 of them since the entry into force of the last ceasefire, on October 11, 2025.