Residents of southern Gaza say they fear being pushed from their homes again after new Israeli strikes hit neighbourhoods near a demarcation known as the Yellow Line. The line, east of Khan Yunis, was created under a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and marks an area where Israeli troops still control movement through checkpoints.
Tens of thousands of Gazans still live in tents or damaged houses in communities close to the Yellow Line more than two years into the war. Many now worry that continued bombardment is an attempt to force them to move westward into already overcrowded camps where food, water and basic supplies are scarce.
“We do not sleep at night because of fear. The bombardments in the east are relentless,” said Umm Ahmed, a 40 year old mother from Bani Suheila whose home was destroyed earlier in the conflict. She and her family now live in a tent beside the ruins, saying they prefer to stay near their land rather than face the uncertainty of another displacement.
Palestinian officials view the Yellow Line as a tool for permanent displacement. “The objective is to frighten residents, expel them from their areas, and force them west,” said Alaa al Batta, the mayor of Khan Yunis, who accused Israel of violating the ceasefire by striking near the line.
The Israeli military says its deployment in the area is consistent with the ceasefire and aimed at countering what it calls terrorist activities by Hamas fighters who “cross the Yellow Line.” It has reported several strikes in the zone, saying they targeted suspected militants and military infrastructure.
Locals such as 45 year old Mahmud Baraka from Khuzaa describe constant artillery fire and ongoing demolitions of homes. “It feels like we are still living in a war zone. The explosions are so close you think they are in your house,” he said, accusing Israel of trying to empty the area.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Gaza’s health ministry says over 70,000 people have been killed in the territory since then, with most of the enclave’s more than two million residents displaced, many of them several times.
Despite the danger and the pressure to leave, some residents insist they will not abandon their homes. “We will not leave this land,” said one father from the outskirts of Khan Yunis who lives with his five children near the Yellow Line, arguing that moving again would only create another tragedy
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