Israel has moved the blocs that are supposed to define its line of control after the ceasefire deep into Gaza in several places, sparking confusion among Palestinians.
Satellite images reviewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) show that Israel placed blocks in at least three areas, before returning at a later time and moving its positions inside the Strip.
Under the terms of the US-brokered deal with Hamas, Israel agreed to withdraw its forces beyond the line marked in yellow on Israeli military maps, which it marked on the ground with yellow concrete blocks.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned in October that anyone crossing the yellow line “will be met with fire.”
Since those comments were made, there have been a series of fatal accidents around the line.
In Beit Lahia, Jabalia and Al-Tuffah, the IDF placed blocks and then returned to move them deeper into Gaza. In total, 16 positions were transferred.
[BBC]
In the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, satellite images show that IDF forces moved at least seven already-placed blocks between 27 November and 25 December.
The location of the markers was moved an average of 295 meters (968 ft) within the sector.
In addition to the moved blocks, BBC Verify identified 205 other marks. More than half of them were placed much deeper into the sector than the line marked on the maps.
An IDF spokesman said he rejects “all allegations that the yellow line was moved or crossed by IDF forces.”
They added, “The IDF is working to visually define the yellow line in accordance with the conditions on the ground and the ongoing operational assessment of the situation.”
Analysis of satellite images up to January 11 indicates that some parts of the Yellow Line – which the IDF commander described as a “new border line” – also remain unmarked on the ground for more than three months since the ceasefire began.
The latest satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show that blocks have not been placed along about 10 kilometers (six miles) of territory – leaving some people in Gaza struggling to figure out where the start of what the Israeli military calls a “dangerous combat zone” lies.
[BBC]
Last month, a 23-year-old man near Khan Yunis – who the BBC is not naming for his safety – said Israeli forces suddenly moved blocks near him beyond the designated line, leaving him “trapped”.
“We now live inside the yellow line, [but] “Behind the yellow squares, we have no idea what our fate will be,” he said. “The atmosphere at night is terrifying. We hear shells exploding, soldiers advancing, gunfire, and drones flying over our heads non-stop. We are also under direct fire.”
Professor Andreas Krieg, a Middle East security expert from King’s College London, described the movement of the blocks as a “tool of regional engineering.”
“By keeping the legal line on the map and the physical blocks hundreds of meters apart, Israel maintains the ability to move to where Gazans can live, move and farm without officially declaring a border change,” he said.
But Ephraim Inbar – head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security – noted that the designated line may not take into account natural barriers to the markings and that IDF engineers may place the blocks where they “find it easiest to place them.”
A series of fatal accidents around the yellow line
Since Katz’s warning in October, forces have shot at people who crossed the yellow line on at least 69 occasions, an analysis of IDF Telegram posts and statements to the BBC showed.
On December 19, the IDF launched a raid on a school housing displaced people in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City – about 330 meters inside the Palestinian side of the line, according to IDF maps – but just a few meters from the yellow block that had been moved there.
Eyewitnesses said that the accident occurred while a wedding was being held next to the school building. The Hamas-run Civil Defense Service in Gaza said that five people, including children, were killed in the explosion.
An IDF statement relating to that day said they had opened fire on “suspicious individuals” west of the Yellow Line, adding that the incident was still under review and that it “regretted any harm caused to uninvolved individuals.”
In another fatal accident, Zaher Nasser Shamiya (17 years old) was martyred near the yellow squares in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. His father said that IDF forces shot him before running him over with a tank on December 10.
“The tank turned his body into pieces… and entered the safe zone [west of the Yellow Line] She ran over him.” The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Investigates) contacted the Israeli army to comment on the incident.
In November, local media reported that two children – ages 8 and 10 or 11 – were killed by Israeli forces. Their uncle said that the husband They were collecting firewood for their disabled father When they were killed.
Speaking about the deaths, an Israeli army statement said that it eliminated two suspects who crossed the yellow line, carried out suspicious activities on the ground, and approached Israeli army forces. No details were provided about how the couple were identified as suspects.
An Israeli army spokesman accused Hamas fighters of shooting at troops six times “behind the yellow line” over the past week, in a statement the BBC verified.
Demolition and fortification operations
While Israel agreed to withdraw its forces beyond the yellow line under the October ceasefire agreement, videos and satellite images seen by BBC Verify repeatedly showed Israeli army vehicles operating outside the yellow line marked on the map.
In verified clips, armored personnel carriers and bulldozers were seen 400 meters beyond the designated yellow line at the Bani Suhaila roundabout in Khan Yunis, while a satellite image taken on December 25 shows an IDF tank, excavator, and other vehicles positioned about 260 meters beyond the yellow line in Beit Lahia.
In some cases, the transfer of blocks was followed by demolition of adjacent buildings by the IDF.
In the eastern part of Gaza City, satellite images show that hundreds of buildings were flattened up to the site of the first blocks, then the markers were moved and more destruction occurred.
In the nearby Jabalia area, Israeli forces demolished a series of school buildings located approximately 150 meters inside the drawn line.
In some cases where Israeli army demolition operations took place, the debris obscured the marks from Palestinians on the ground.
An Israeli army spokesman said that forces are dismantling Hamas’s network of tunnels, which he said extend under buildings on both sides of the Yellow Line, adding that destroying the tunnels “may cause buildings on both sides of the line to collapse.”
The United States said on Wednesday The second phase of the ceasefire agreement is scheduled to beginUnder which Israel is expected to withdraw from additional parts of the Strip. But no timetable was mentioned for the withdrawal linked to the disarmament of Hamas under the ceasefire agreement reached in October.
In parts of the Strip, markings were put in place shortly before work began to build temporary Israeli fortifications such as roadblocks and defensive barriers beyond the designated yellow line.
Craig told BBC Verify that the movement of the blocs would eventually allow Israel to turn parts of Gaza into a “sterile belt.”
He added: “In practical terms, this means that the status of the land is less about what the ceasefire map stipulates than about where the concrete blocks are located on a given day.”
Additional reporting by Maha El Gamal.
[BBC]