How the “Yellow Line” turned from ceasefire marker into tool of occupation

On November 18 (27 Aban), the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 2803, officially endorsing the 20-point plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump for the future of Gaza.

The plan, which was first published as the basis of the October ceasefire agreement, establishes several core structures: first, a “yellow line” delineating areas in Gaza where Israeli occupation forces will maintain a physical presence; second, an International Stabilization Force (ISF), described as a long-term internal security solution, to be overseen by a so-called peace committee chaired by Trump himself; third, a non-political Palestinian committee made up of Palestinian and international experts tasked with managing Gaza’s transitional governance; and finally, Trump’s economic development plan for Gaza’s reconstruction and recovery.

Meanwhile, Eyal Zamir, the commander of the Israeli army, recently addressed occupation troops in Gaza and referred to the yellow line as a new border.

Zamir claimed: “We will not allow Hamas to reestablish itself. We have operational control over vast areas of the Gaza Strip and will remain on those defensive lines. The yellow line is a new border that serves as a forward defensive line for our communities and as a line of operational activity.”

Israel’s abuse of the Yellow Line

According to The Guardian, the yellow line has become an instrument for Israel’s permanent control over more than half of Gaza. Marked by colored markers and concrete barriers, it separates northern Gaza (including Gaza City and Jabalia) from the south (Khan Younis and Rafah), and crossing it without authorization is prohibited.

Israel claims the line is necessary to protect the borders of the occupied territories, but critics view it as a symbol of ceasefire violations and an instrument for large-scale occupation. It places more than 58 percent of Gaza under Israeli control, confining Palestinians to the remaining 42 percent.

Al Jazeera reported that since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces have used the yellow line to justify deadly shootings of Palestinians, who are typically children and civilians.

For example, on December 3, 2025, two Palestinian brothers aged 9 and 10 in Khan Younis were killed by an Israeli drone strike while collecting firewood for their disabled father near the yellow line. The occupation army described them as “suspected threats.”

On December 4, another Palestinian was shot dead for crossing the yellow line. Israel labeled the killing as the “neutralization of a threat.”

These shootings—reported by Israeli media without key details such as the victims’ ages—are part of a “shoot-to-kill” policy enforced around the yellow line.

Israel’s abuse of the yellow line goes beyond shootings and has led to widespread violations of the ceasefire. Since October 10, more than 360 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded, including over 70 children. This amounts to an average of seven deaths per day.

Drone strikes—such as the October 29 attack in Nuseirat that killed 50 people—and the bombardment of so-called safe zones for displaced persons have turned the yellow line into a free-fire zone.

Human rights experts such as Sari Bashi, an American human rights lawyer, stress that these measures serve as cover for ethnic cleansing, since reconstruction is allowed only in occupied areas and Palestinians are barred from entering half of Gaza.

Foreign Policy also wrote that Israel is using the yellow line to advance ethnic cleansing and strategic control. The line—across which daily movements of Israeli troops into other areas are reportedly taking place—conditions reconstruction on the disarmament of resistance forces and confines Palestinians to so-called “green camps” under Israeli supervision. These areas accommodate only 25,000 people, about one percent of the population.