Israeli army building barrier inside Gaza beyond ‘yellow line’: Haaretz

Israel's army is building a ground barrier inside the Gaza Strip that extends hundreds of meters beyond the so-called "yellow line" in two areas, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday.

The yellow line marks the area to which the Israeli army was supposed to withdraw under the first phase of US President Donald Trump's plan to halt Israel's genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Citing an investigation based on recent satellite images, Haaretz said the barrier consists mainly of an earth berm and a trench, and has expanded the area under Israeli army control to 65% of the Gaza Strip.

After announcing its withdrawal to the yellow line in October 2025, the Israeli army said it controlled 53% of Gaza.

The barrier's route partly extends hundreds of meters beyond the yellow line into areas that were designated, when the ceasefire was announced, as being under Hamas control, according to the newspaper.

At one point in southern Gaza, the barrier crosses the yellow line by more than 1 kilometer, Haaretz said.

The Israeli army has been working for months to build the barrier, which stretches for several kilometers inside the Gaza Strip, according to the report.

The barrier was initially built along the yellow line, with its deepest deviation into Hamas-designated areas reaching 180 meters, the newspaper said.

However, satellite images taken by Planet Labs in July showed that the barrier now extends hundreds of meters beyond the yellow line at two locations in southern Gaza.

In Khan Younis, part of the barrier extends about 400 meters beyond the yellow line along Salah al-Din Road, a main route connecting northern and southern Gaza.

In Rafah, the barrier crosses the yellow line by about 1,300 meters at one point, according to Haaretz.

Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued daily attacks in Gaza, killing at least 1,168 Palestinians and injuring 3,798 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Since Israel's genocide began on Oct. 8, 2023, nearly 73,300 Palestinians have been killed and 174,000 injured, while 90% of Gaza's civilian infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.