Gaza (QNN)- Reports and satellite images indicate that Israeli forces are extending the so-called “Yellow Line”, which roughly divides Gaza in half, pushing it deeper into the Palestinian enclave in several places, as the US announced on Wednesday the launch of the second phase of Trump-brokered plan, further squeezing Palestinians into ever smaller areas of the enclave.
On October 10, the Israeli forces completed the first phase of withdrawal under the ceasefire deal to the “Yellow Line,” a non-physical demarcation line separating the Israeli occupation forces from certain areas of Gaza, while occupying roughly 53 percent of the Strip.
Israeli forces have been reportedly expanding the so-called “Yellow Line” in eastern Gaza, particularly in eastern Gaza City’s Tuffah, Shujayea, and Zeitoun neighbourhoods.
Until progress is made in all matters related to the disarmament of Hamas, Israel has no plans to withdraw from the “Yellow Line” in the eastern Gaza Strip. This was announced on Thursday on the "This Morning" program with Ilael Shahar, on Channel 2's News.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, known as Kan, also reported on Thursday that Israeli officials consider the so-called yellow line as a strategic area that will remain under Israeli control.
Haaretz said on Thursday, citing satellite images, that the “Yellow Line” in some cases extends hundreds of meters into territory that is officially supposed to be under Palestinian control. The images also show zones of destruction that have expanded since the ceasefire began, including in Jabalia and the Shujaiyeh neighborhood, both within and beyond the area under Israeli control.
The Israeli occupation now controls about 54 percent of Gaza's territory, Haaretz reported.
The latest satellite images were taken by Planet Labs. An examination of the images shows that after the deal went into effect, the Israeli forces reorganized its forces and deployed them, among other places, along the Yellow Line, which Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir recently defined as "Israel's new border." As part of this move, the Israeli military established new outposts in the areas under its control.
The BBC confirmed on Friday that Israel has moved the blocks which are supposed to mark the “Yellow Line" deeper into Gaza in several places. Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show that in at least three areas Israel placed blocks, before returning later and moving the positions further into the Strip.
According to the British organization Forensic Architecture, since the ceasefire began and as of mid-December, the forces have established 13 new outposts inside the Strip. These include two large outposts in Jabalia. The outposts are tall, prominent in the landscape, and provide a wide field of view. Their construction involved demolishing buildings and clearing land, as well as the use of heavy engineering equipment to build high earthworks from which all of northern Gaza can be observed.
The satellite images also show that since the ceasefire, the military has continued to demolish hundreds of additional buildings in Jabalia, around the Indonesian Hospital. Most of the destruction is on the side which Israel occupies of the “Yellow Line”, but it is clear that many more buildings have been destroyed west of the line as well.
Analysis of the satellite images shows that in various areas along the “Yellow Line”, there is indeed a gap between the location of the yellow barriers on the ground and the position of the “Yellow Line” as marked in the military’s official publications, including the map published by the Israeli military Spokesperson's Unit in Arabic for the Gaza population.
For example, in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood in eastern Gaza City: The yellow concrete barriers can be identified in the satellite images, located about 300 meters west of the official “Yellow Line” shown on the Israeli map.
Also, the latest satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify show that blocks have not been placed along roughly 10km (six miles) of territory, leaving people in Gaza struggling to know where the "dangerous combat zone” as identified by the military.
