Rabat – For Palestinians in Gaza, the October 2025 ceasefire has brought little clarity or safety, as shifting Israeli military boundaries continue to place civilians at risk.
The ceasefire plan distinguishes both a “yellow line” and an “orange line” separating Israeli-controlled regions from “safe zones” for Palestinian inhabitants. The yellow line is the official border between Israel military zones and the Gaza Strip, while the orange line serves as an additional buffer inside where movement is prohibited without prior military coordination.
Yet Israel has been illegally expanding the two militarized boundaries and carrying out killings despite the ceasefire, according to sources on the ground and verified satellite imaging by the BBC.
The adjusted yellow line has been accompanied by a growing number of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fortified outposts. As the line progresses westward, the zone in which any Palestinian person is designated a threat and legitimized target grows.
The UN confirmed “Israeli forces’ shifting and poorly marked deployment line,” often without any clear markers for Palestinians as the IDF positions itself deeper into Gaza.
“Palestinians have no blueprint for survival: whatever they do or don’t do, wherever they go or don’t go, there is no safety or protection afforded to them. It is hard to square this with a ceasefire,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.
The UN reported last month that the orange line had been moved and 10 of their facilities, including emergency shelters for displaced people, were now in Israeli military zones.
In the six months since the ceasefire was enacted, at least 738 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 2,000 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Palestinians approaching or unknowingly crossing these elusive boundaries have been shot without warning.
“Targeting civilians not taking direct part in hostilities is a war crime, regardless of their proximity to deployment lines,” Türk condemned earlier this month.
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The IDF justifies their actions along the yellow lines, claiming soldiers have a right to defend themselves – a right afforded to Israelis but punishable by death for Palestinians under a recently passed discriminatory death penalty law.
“The IDF is working to visually mark the yellow line, in accordance with terrain conditions and the continuously updated operational assessment,” an Israeli military spokesperson said.
Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement at least 2,400 times from October 10 to April 14 through attacks by air, artillery and direct shootings, according to reports from the Government Media Office in Gaza.
Beyond direct attacks, Israel has also kept the amount of aid allowed into Gaza extremely limited.
Since the start of the ceasefire, only 2,703 of the expected 36,800 people have been allowed to cross through Rafah. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 18,500 people in Gaza are awaiting urgent medical care.
Over 71,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, including 38,000 women and girls.
As the yellow line continues to shift, Palestinians are left navigating an environment where designated “safe zones” offer no guarantee of safety, highlighting the fallibility of the ceasefire and ongoing failure of the international community to hold Israel accountable for its internationally declared war crimes.
