DayofPal– Israeli forces have pushed the “yellow line” westward, controlling over 58% of Gaza through expanded fortifications, earth berms, and 32 fortified outposts.
This advancement has created a lethal “free-fire zone,” resulting in 269 Palestinian deaths and drawing potential war crime allegations from the UN.
The yellow line has crept forward in several places, expanding the forces-controlled area well beyond the 53% of Gaza territory implied in the original ceasefire maps, according to The Guardian.
By December, Israel had taken 58% of the strip and continued to edge forwards, according to the research agency Forensic Architecture.
The line is marked in some places by yellow concrete blocks, many of which were moved in December and January as the army took more territory, particularly in urban areas. All over Gaza, residents awoke to find the line had moved overnight and they were suddenly in a free-fire zone.
“The yellow line has advanced several times,” said 37-year-old Faiq Al-Sakani in Al-Tuffah. He said the line moved 100 metres in January, reaching Al-Sanafour roundabout near the Salah Al-Din road, the main route running north-south through the strip.
“During these advances, displaced people who had been staying near Salah al-Din Street were targeted,” he said. In recent days, he added, there had been a significant uptick in demolitions, excavations and new buildings by the army, along with constant heavy gunfire in the area.
The forces have also extended a chain of earth berms, raised areas of land. along the line, dominating neighbourhoods and giving tank gunners and snipers a line of sight over large tracts of ruined Palestinian cities.
More than 10 miles of berms have been erected already, according to Haaretz, mostly in the north, but bulldozers have started putting up new earthworks in Gaza City and Khan Younis.
The military has been also building an expanding array of fortified outposts. Seven new concrete forts have been built in recent months, bringing the total across the strip to 32. All of the new construction has been along the yellow line, Haaretz said.
As these physical markers have moved westwards, so too has an unmarked zone in which any Palestinian person or vehicle is considered a threat and a legitimate target.
Aid organizations working in Gaza said they were told by Israeli liaison officers that the edge of this zone was the “orange line” and they had to coordinate their operations with the military if they crossed it.
But the orange line existed only on maps. It was never marked and its distance from the yellow line appears to vary from 200 to 500 metres, according to the Israeli army unit deployed there, The Guardian said.
The UN reported in March that it had been informed that the orange line had moved forward and 10 UN facilities were now on the wrong side of it, including emergency shelters for displaced people.
More recently, three connected berms have been erected along the yellow line by Beit Lahiya, forming a high barrier visible from miles around.
The claim that civilians have been killed when they were perceived as a threat to Israeli positions along the line has been rejected as a legal defence by the UN human rights commissioner, Volker Türk, who said this month: “Targeting civilians not taking direct part in hostilities is a war crime, regardless of their proximity to deployment lines.”
According to UN data, of the more than 700 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire over the six months of the ceasefire, 269 were shot near the yellow line. Of these, more than 100 were children.
On Saturday night, residents and local journalists reported that Salah Al-Din Street, linking northern and southern Gaza, had become increasingly dangerous amid an intensified Israeli military presence, with tanks reportedly advancing in the area.
On Sunday, eyewitnesses said yellow concrete blocks were installed overnight near Kuwait Junction along the same road, further restricting movement and posing risks to both vehicles and pedestrians.
Sources added that two cousins, Mohammed Riyad Al-Ashqar and Mohammed Ziad Al-Ashqar, were killed by Israeli forces while riding a motorcycle near Kuwait Junction, south of Gaza City.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=74176
