Israeli forces expand yellow line in Gaza beyond October 2025 plan

Israeli forces have advanced the yellow line that separates territory under their control from the area governed by Hamas. The line now extends between 1.5 km and 6.5 km from Gaza's eastern boundary with Israel. The original demarcation, set in the October 2025 U.S.-proposed peace plan, gave Israel control of slightly more than half of Gaza.

Since the ceasefire, the line has shifted westward, bringing the total area under Israeli control to approximately 60 percent, according to Israeli military maps.

Line placement near key routes CBC News verified a June 29 photograph showing a yellow concrete block placed about one kilometre west of the original line. The block sits metres from the Salah al-Din highway near the entrances to the Nuseirat and Al-Bureij refugee camps.

The placement creates a buffer zone. Palestinians approaching the blocks from the west risk being shot at, according to a senior lecturer at King's College London.

Casualty figures and statements The UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory verified 196 Palestinian deaths in attacks near the line between last October and early April, including 18 women and 43 children. In a statement to CBC News, the IDF said it does not target civilians solely for approaching the line and requires warning measures before the use of force.

The same statement noted that concrete barriers are placed approximately every 200 metres. A research editor at Forensic Architecture said the line is being fortified with military infrastructure and could concentrate 2.1 million Palestinians on less than half of Gaza's land.