Maps show how Israel’s ‘Yellow Line’ keeps squeezing Palestinians in Gaza

Israel has expanded its subject concern successful the Gaza Strip successful usurpation of a United States-brokered ‘ceasefire’, forcing Palestinians into an ever-smaller stock of the besieged territory, devastated by Israel’s ongoing genocidal war.

Nearly two-thirds of Gaza is present nether Israeli subject power oregon taxable to entree restrictions.

The archetypal ‘Yellow Line’, established nether US President Donald Trump’s 20-point program to extremity the war, marked the country to which Israeli forces initially withdrew. They were expected to marque further withdrawals gradually, but instead, they person seized much territory.

On Sunday, Israeli forces moved yellowish factual blocks dozens of metres westbound successful Shujayea, a neighbourhood successful southeastern Gaza City, forcing Palestinian families to fly and bringing much of the neighbourhood nether Israeli subject control.

A yellowish artifact demarcating the ‘Yellow Line’, which has separated the Gaza Strip’s Israeli-held and Palestinian zones since a ‘ceasefire’ began a twelvemonth ago, is seen successful Khan Younis successful the confederate Gaza Strip connected January 22, 2026 [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]

“It’s not simply astir wherever the ‘Yellow Line’ is contiguous but wherever it tin determination next,” Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili said, reporting from Gaza City. “For families who person been repeatedly displaced successful the past 3 years, the concern remains dire, and they person to marque the intolerable determination of wherever they tin go.”

More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 cardinal colonisation has been forcibly displaced by Israel’s war, launched connected October 7, 2023, aft Hamas-led attacks connected confederate Israel.

Using maps, Al Jazeera shows however overmuch of Gaza Israel has grabbed since the ‘ceasefire’.

Gaza earlier the war

Before the war, Palestinians were dispersed crossed the Gaza Strip, a 365sq km (141sq-mile) territory astir 41km (25 miles) agelong and from 6km to 12km (4 to 7 miles) wide.

That made it 1 of the astir densely populated places connected Earth with astir 6,000 radical per quadrate kilometre, akin to Nairobi oregon London. Each idiosyncratic had, connected average, astir 160sq metres (1,722sq ft) of land.

Even then, not each of Gaza’s onshore was accessible. Israel enforced a buffer portion on the obstruction with Israel, and Palestinians who approached it risked being shot. In 2010, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that the restricted country covered 17 percent of Gaza’s onshore and 35 percent of its farmland.

Gaza has been nether an Israeli land, aerial and oversea blockade since 2007.

Gaza astatine the ‘ceasefire’

Under the archetypal signifier of the “ceasefire”, Israeli forces were to retreat to the “Yellow Line” wrong 24 hours, aft which a 72-hour play began for the handover of Israeli captives held successful Gaza. Trump archetypal published a representation of the enactment connected his Truth Social platform.

The enactment near Israel successful power of 53 percent of the Strip, mostly farmland and borderline areas successful the east, and confined Palestinians to the remaining 47 percent, astir 172sq km (66sq miles).

By October 2025, 2 years of warfare had killed much than 67,000 Palestinians, and tens of thousands much had near the territory, reducing Gaza’s colonisation to astir 2.1 million.

Pushed into little than fractional of Gaza’s territory nether the “ceasefire”, its density doubled to astir 12,000 radical per quadrate kilometre, comparable to New York City. Each idiosyncratic was near with astir 82sq metres (883sq ft).

(Al Jazeera)

Gaza today

Since the “ceasefire”, Israeli forces person repeatedly moved the yellowish factual blocks marking the “Yellow Line” farther west, sometimes overnight, expanding the areas nether their control. Satellite imagery has besides documented continued demolitions successful areas held by Israeli forces.

The probe radical Forensic Architecture estimated that Israel controlled 58 percent of Gaza by December. In March, the Israeli subject sent assistance agencies maps of a caller “orange line”, a restricted portion beyond the “Yellow Line” wherever humanitarian movements indispensable beryllium coordinated with the army.

According to OCHA, restrictions present screen 65 percent of Gaza. Israel itself said it controls astir 70 percent of the territory, a UN authoritative told the Security Council successful June.

(Al Jazeera)

That leaves 2.1 cardinal radical successful astir 35 percent of the Strip, astir 128sq km (49sq miles). The colonisation density has astir tripled since earlier the warfare to astir 16,000 radical per quadrate kilometre, adjacent to cardinal Tokyo.

Each idiosyncratic present has astir 61sq metres (657sq ft) of onshore for everything: shelter, roads, schools, hospitals and farmland.

Unlike Tokyo, Gaza has small abstraction near to location its people. The UN Satellite Centre, UNOSAT, recovered 82 percent of structures successful the Strip are damaged oregon destroyed. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says lone 3 percent of Gaza’s cropland is some undamaged and accessible.

(Al Jazeera)

OCHA says the remaining 35 percent of Gaza is “already overcrowded” and entree restrictions are a cardinal obstacle arsenic assistance groups effort to relocate families earlier the rainy season. More than 950,000 radical unrecorded successful displacement sites astatine hazard of flooding, according to the UN, astir of them successful tents and makeshift shelters, arsenic seen successful the outer representation below.

Approaching the ‘Yellow Line” tin beryllium deadly. Israel treats areas beyond it arsenic a free-fire zone, and Palestinians who travel adjacent it person been shot. Nearly 1,500 radical person been killed crossed Gaza since the ceasefire was announced.