IDF denies shifting Gaza Yellow Line after report claims buffer zone expanded

The IDF rejects claims that it has unilaterally shifted the so-called Yellow Line inside the Gaza Strip, following a report alleging that Israeli forces have redrawn the border deeper into the enclave.

In a response issued by the IDF, the military says it is visually marking the Yellow Line in accordance with the terrain and as operational assessments change, calling allegations the line has been moved “inaccurate.”

According to the statement, troops are operating based on directives from the political leadership and in line with boundaries defined under the ceasefire agreement.

The IDF adds that it acts, “as much as possible,” to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians in accordance with international law.

The response comes after an investigation by French daily newspaper Libération claimed that more than 120 yellow markers had been installed across Gaza – including near Khan Younis, Shejaiya and Jabalia – expanding the area under Israeli control beyond routes set by the October ceasefire agreement.

????Yellow Line in Gaza
The Israeli army continues to draw its own version of this new border. We have mapped more than 120 yellow blocks marking this new line, which is being drawn further into the enclave, without respecting the route announced in October. pic.twitter.com/ao9Uhf293A

— Brice Le Borgne (@BriceLeBorgne) December 27, 2025

Using satellite imagery and videos filmed by Gaza residents, the paper says it geolocated the markers and determined that they now enclose at least 56% of the enclave as being under Israeli control – up from the 53% Israel was reported to control when the line was first demarcated.

One cited example places newly installed blocks in early December near the Bani Suheila school, east of Khan Younis, roughly 600 meters inside the line Israel previously said would define the security buffer. The school area, the report notes, had been used by displaced families as a shelter.