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

This article is published in association with United Nations.

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 again

For 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 and leave our belongings behind,” she said.

“We can’t take it anymore. We lost half of our children in the war, and only remnants of us remain.”

Nowhere else to go

Some 2.1 million people – almost the entire population of the Strip – are currently displaced and living within the limits of the “yellow line”, according to the UN. 

Many live near the painted yellow blocks, with residents saying they have continued to live in these neighbourhoods – notably Al-Tuffah and Al Zaytoun neighbourhoods in eastern Gaza City – because they have nowhere else to go. 

Families there are constantly on high alert, fearing that they may have to abandon their property and quickly flee if the security situation changes.

Safaa Mushtaha, an Al-Tuffah resident, said that asking where the family could move to has become part of their daily lives.

“‘Where do we go?’ This is a question we’ve been asking ourselves for three years,” she said. “We accepted living near the yellow line, but it’s become unbearable.” 

Dire humanitarian needs 

The United Nations said finding safer sites to establish camps for displaced people has become more difficult because much of the suitable land lies within prohibited or restricted areas east, south and north of the “yellow line” and beyond.

Some 1.98 million people, or 94 per cent of Gaza’s population, need assistance related to shelter and non-food items, according to the latest shelter assessment published by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Also, 84 per cent of families also live in extremely difficult conditions, including shelters or tents that do not provide adequate protection from the weather.

‘This is not life’

For Ms. Ishtiwi, daily life has become very difficult living near the yellow line. 

“We don’t know what to do or where to go,” she told UN News. “We don’t have a tent, and we don’t have money.”

Ahmed Arhim, from the Zeitoun neighbourhood, said the sounds of gunfire and drones make it difficult to sleep, especially for children.

“We don’t sleep every night,” he said.

“The children can’t sleep. They are scared and they wet themselves. Many residents have already left. We are displaced every day, always displaced. This is not life.”

‘The bloodshed in Gaza must stop’

These testimonies come at a time when UN agencies are reporting continued Israeli military operations and strikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire declared last year.

Local authorities have reported 1,334 deaths and 4,429 injuries since the ceasefire’s announcement on 10 October 2025, according to OCHA’s latest humanitarian update. 

“The bloodshed in Gaza must stop,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a recent statement, noting that over a five-day period in late August, 24 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks, including four children and a woman, and that 21 of them were killed in air raids.