Israel expands earth barriers and shifts Gaza’s “Yellow Line,” displacing Palestinians

Israel uses sand walls to further encroach in Palestinian territory on Gaza as siege tightens Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 07/31/2026 - 11:26 Israel is expanding its area of control by displacing families and redrawing Gaza’s post-ceasefire boundary Palestinians run for cover as smoke and fire rise during an Israeli strike on the the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Gaza City on 28 July (AFP/Omar Al Qattaa) Off Israel is pushing the so-called yellow line deeper into Gaza, displacing Palestinian families and tightening its siege by squeezing more than two million people into an increasingly small section of the devastated enclave. Residents of al-Tuffah in northern Gaza awoke on Monday to find concrete markers moved westwards into the middle of Salah al-Din Road, the territory’s main north-south route, the BBC reported. An Israeli flag had also been raised over a three-metre-high sand and earth barrier nearby. Satellite imagery has shown the extent of the walled enclosure across vast tracts of the besieged Palestinian territory. For several months now, Gaza's residents have reported their expulsion by Israel and the prevention of their return by high earth walls. Families, whose home Israel destroyed during its genocide on Gaza, fled once again on Sunday after the Israeli military warned it would attack a nearby building. The subsequent strike tore apart the tent that had become their only shelter. Under the US-brokered agreement reached with Hamas last October, Israel was supposed to withdraw to the yellow line while temporarily retaining control over 53 percent of Gaza. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, has since said that the military controls more than 60 percent of the enclave. In May, he said his “directive” was to increase that figure to 70 percent. The death toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has risen to 73,335, with at least 174,052 Palestinians wounded since 7 October, 2023, medical sources said. Since the ceasefire took effect on 11 October, Israeli attacks have killed 1,209 Palestinians and wounded 3,943, while rescue crews have recovered 803 bodies. Since the agreement, Israel has built more than 42km of barriers covering about 85 percent of the yellow line. View on Instagram The fortifications, military bases and expanding embankments point towards a prolonged occupation while effectively redrawing the boundary further inside Gaza. Near al-Mawasi, one barrier extends more than 1.5km beyond the line originally mapped under the agreement. Another in Khan Younis crosses it by more than 500 metres. Hamas says it will not disarm in Gaza before Israel withdrawal Read More » The advancing boundary has repeatedly uprooted Palestinians. On 18 July, dozens of families fled Zeitoun after Israel issued an evacuation order. Witnesses reported gunfire from military vehicles and drones, as well as artillery attacks. The United Nations humanitarian agency said about 30 families lost their tents. Satellite images also show Israel razing farmland east of Deir el-Balah after giving families two days to leave. Israeli forces destroyed structures and apparently uprooted an olive grove more than 500 metres beyond the mapped line before installing new concrete markers. In Rafah and Khan Younis, Israel demolished homes and greenhouses to clear routes for new barriers. Satellite imagery indicates that scores of additional buildings were destroyed across Gaza in July alone, including in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, Zeitoun and Deir el-Balah. Israel has also established 14 new military positions since October and expanded several older sites. The creeping annexation is turning the Yellow Line into an instrument of siege, allowing Israel to seize more land while forcing Palestinians into overcrowded areas where shelter, food, water and medical care remain scarce Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

• Earth barriers now seal off 85pc of boundary• Satellite images show land cleared, olive groves razed, buildings demolished beyond Yellow Line• Troops forcing families from tent camps into ever-shrinking safe zone ISRAEL’s military is systematically expanding an extensive network of earth barriers and shifting demarcation markers deeper into the Gaza Strip, displacing Palestinian families and raising concerns of a prolonged occupation, according to a BBC News report. Under a US-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas last October, Israeli forces agreed to withdraw to a designated demarcation known as the Yellow Line, leaving Israel in temporary control of 53pc of Gaza’s territory. However, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated the military controlled over 60pc of the teritory, and in May said his directive was to increase that area to 70pc, the report said. Hamas maintains that Israel is violating the agreement by pushing the Yellow Line westward. The IDF, meanwhile, described its posture as a defensive measure involving physical barriers and intelligence capabilities to prevent infiltrations, declining to provide further details on the barrier’s route for operational security reasons. Yet, physical evidence demonstrates encroachment beyond agreed boundaries. Despite initially marking the boundary with concrete blocks, Israel has since constructed a network of barriers stretching more than 42 kilometres and covering 85pc of the Yellow Line, according to the report. The longest section spans 13.8km. The embankments extend significantly beyond the originally mapped line, including a section near the al-Mawasi camp positioned more than 1.5km past the boundary and another in Khan Younis extending more than 500 metres over it. For displaced Palestinians, the shifting markers have prompted renewed evacuations. In the al-Tuffah neighbourhood of northern Gaza, residents found yellow concrete blocks moved westward into the center of Salah al-Din road, a key north-south thoroughfare, with an Israeli flag hoisted atop a three-metre (10-foot) earth barrier nearby. Similar displacement occurred east of Gaza City in the Zeitoun area on July 18, when dozens of families fled following an IDF evacuation order. According to UN-OCHA, roughly 30 families lost their shelters during the evacuation. Residents reported shooting from military vehicles, drone activity and shelling as heavy machinery built a new base and earth banks east of the neighbourhood. Satellite imagery and verified video analysed by BBC News show land cleared, olive groves torn down and scores of buildings demolished beyond the Yellow Line in Khan Yunis, Deir al-Balah, Rafah, Jabalia and Beit Lahia. The military has also established 14 new positions along the boundary since the October ceasefire, and expanded seven existing sites. Palestinians say the changes have further restricted an already displaced population of more than two million people. “The Yellow Line keeps moving day by day,” Abu Kamel Hamami, a displaced resident of Gaza City, told BBC News. Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2026