‘Yellow line’, the de facto Israeli buffer zone shaping life in Gaza

The so-called yellow line has been squeezing Palestinians into smaller areas, making their lives more difficult.

Gaza – Just metres from yellow-painted concrete blocks marking the Israeli army’s latest redeployment line in eastern Gaza City, Zaid Mohammed, a displaced Palestinian father of four, shelters with his family in a small tent.

The so-called yellow line is the demarcation line where the Israeli army withdrew to under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire that came into effect in October. Israeli military maps indicate the line extends 1.5km and 6.5km (0.9 to 4 miles) inside Gaza from its eastern boundary with Israel and covers roughly 58 percent of the enclave.

The line divides Gaza into two zones: an eastern area under Israeli military control and a western area where Palestinians face fewer movement restrictions but are under constant threat of air strikes and forced displacement.

Zaid’s tent stands in the ruins of destroyed homes and a flattened urban area with debris scattered as far as the eye can see. A United Nations official last week said it would take more than seven years to clear more than 60 million tonnes of rubble in Gaza.

Israel’s more than two years of genocidal war has destroyed or damaged more than 80 percent of the buildings in the enclave of more than 2.3 million people. Now most of them, including Zaid, have been forced to take shelter in tents or bombed-out houses.