A stream of Israeli flags stretched across a desert route near the border with Gaza Strip as hundreds of Israelis marched in support of establishing new Jewish settlements in northern Gaza.

The demonstration, which drew participants of varying ages, underscored the determination among some right-wing activists to rebuild Jewish communities in the territory following months of destruction caused by the war.

Large sections of northern Gaza have been heavily damaged by Israeli bombardment, leaving much of the area in ruins and exposing distant views of the Mediterranean coastline.

Among the organizers was Daniella Weiss, founder of the hardline settler movement Nachala.

“We are here on the way to new Jewish communities in Gaza,” Weiss told reporters during the gathering near the border in late April.

She compared the effort to settlement expansion in the West Bank, which many Israelis refer to as Judea and Samaria.

“What we did in Judea and Samaria, we are going to do the same thing here,” Weiss said.

Settlement construction in the West Bank has long been a source of international controversy, with much of the international community viewing Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories as illegal under international law — a position disputed by Israel.