‘Where do we go?’: How Israel’s ‘yellow line’ is closing in on Palestinians

Ola Ishtiwi sits with her children in front of the remains of her home in the Al-Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza City, a few metres away from a series of painted cement blocks Israel has placed to mark what has become known as the “yellow line”.Initially set up following the announcement of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement of October 2025, the “yellow line” splits Gaza into two sections: most of the Palestinian population is confined in the western zone, while the eastern zone is under Israeli military control. At first, the “yellow line” left roughly 47 per cent of the Strip for the Palestinian population, but Israeli forces have gradually pushed the line inwards, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Palestinians currently live in less than 40 per cent of Gaza’s land area, the UN said. But, in many cases, this push by Israeli forces has led to the displacement of families living close to the line.Displaced, again and againFor Ibtisam Malika, a resident of the Zeitoun neighbourhood near the line, the result is a recurring cycle of displacement, return and then displacement again.“Every two to three months, we are forced to move an...