ISRAEL EXPANDS ‘YELLOW ZONE’, FORCING THOUSANDS MORE GAZANS TO FLEE AGAIN

Wed 29 July 2026:

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Israel is continuing to expand its control over the Gaza Strip by moving yellow concrete barriers deeper into the territory, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel now controls 70 per cent of the enclave, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

The Israeli newspaper, citing Palestinian sources, reported that the barriers are being placed further west, reducing the areas where civilians can move and triggering new waves of displacement.

The latest expansion reportedly took place over the past 24 hours east of Gaza City, near Salah al-Din Road.

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According to the report, the deeper advance is intended to increase pressure on Hamas while providing the Israeli military with wider security zones to protect its forward positions and nearby Israeli settlements.

The report said the operation, which began several weeks ago, is expected to continue, with newly seized areas effectively becoming part of what Israel refers to as “yellow zones”.

A Gaza resident living near Salah al-Din Road said: “Last night, the army moved the yellow barriers closer to an area where many displaced families were staying. As a result, many families were forced to flee for their lives after the area became extremely dangerous and vulnerable to attacks, as happened in Shuja’iyya and Zeitoun.”

The Israeli military said its forces are deployed in Gaza to protect Israel from attack and that the yellow line was being clearly marked on the ground to reduce the risk of contact between troops and civilians.

“IDF’s (Israel Defense Forces) defensive posture in the area includes a security zone, a physical barrier, intelligence capabilities, technological means, and operational activity by IDF troops,” the military said.

For many Gazans ordered to move, the process has become painfully familiar: gathering whatever survived the previous displacement — a few blankets, a cooking pot, a child’s schoolbag — and setting out, often after dark, for another area designated as safe by the Israeli military.

With the October ceasefire, President Donald Trump set out a peace plan for Gaza that largely halted major fighting after two years of devastating Israeli war in Gaza

The plan called for a surge in humanitarian aid, governance by a civilian Palestinian administration, the disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the deployment of an international force to help maintain security.

But progress has stalled.

Israel effectively controlled an estimated 64% of Gaza by late April. Nearly all of the territory’s roughly 2 million residents are concentrated in a narrow coastal area under Hamas control, living largely in damaged buildings or makeshift shelters and facing dire humanitarian conditions.

Hamas has so far refused to disarm, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 28 that Israel intends to expand the area under its control to 70% of the enclave. Israeli forces have continued near-daily military strikes across Gaza.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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