“We have been displaced from one place to another, and now we have nowhere to go,” says Umm Mohammed al Shawish.
This Palestinian woman is desperately looking for a place to live after Israel moved the yellow concrete blocks that delimit the areas it controls within the Gaza Strip.
Families living in al Tuffah in northern Gaza woke up one day last week to discover that the blocks had been moved west to the center of the Salah al Din highway, a key route through Gaza from north to south.
Nearby, an Israeli flag flew over a dirt barrier about 3 meters high.
The al Shawish family home was destroyed during the war.
On July 26, they had to flee again after the Israeli army alerted them of an attack on a nearby building.
Their only shelter was a tent, which was destroyed by the attack.
“We are going to die here,” said Umm Mohammed al Shawish.
"Death is better than humiliation. Nobody supports us," he lamented.
Under the terms of the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last October, Israel agreed to withdraw its troops from all of Gaza to a designated demarcation: the Yellow Line.
The agreement was intended for Israel to temporarily maintain control of the area behind the Yellow Line, equivalent to 53% of Gaza territory.
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) controlled more than 60%.
In May, he publicly stated that his “goal” was to reach 70%.
Hamas accuses Israel of violating the October ceasefire agreement by moving the Yellow Line westward.
A senior Israeli government official categorically rejected Hamas' accusations.
"The deployment of the IDF and the security lines are operational measures adopted to protect Israeli citizens and prevent Hamas from rebuilding its terrorist army. Israel will continue to act against any violation of the ceasefire," the Israeli government explained to the BBC.
The Israeli military initially marked the Yellow Line with concrete blocks, before moving some markers further into Gaza.
But Israel has built a network of barriers, begun shortly after the ceasefire.
These barriers now extend over more than 42 kilometers and cover 85% of the Israeli Yellow Line, with the longest stretch being 13.8 kilometers.
A border that never stops moving
According to experts consulted by the BBC, the earth movements suggest that Israel plans a long occupation of the Strip.
In some areas, the land barrier moves the de facto “border” – the Yellow Line – into Gaza, further expanding the dangerous exclusion zone for Gazans.
A section of the embankment near al Mawasi camp extends more than 1.5 kilometers beyond where the Yellow Line was originally drawn. Another section in Khan Yunis is located more than 500 meters beyond the line.
The IDF states that they are working to “clearly and visually mark the location of the Yellow Line on the ground” in order to “reduce friction.”
Previously, they rejected “all claims that the Yellow Line has been moved or that IDF troops have crossed it.”
Other incidents of displacement have been reported in Gaza in recent months, as the army has moved the yellow blocks further into the territory, to areas where Palestinians have been living during the ceasefire.
On July 18, dozens of families hurriedly loaded motorcycles with mattresses and whatever belongings they could carry as they fled the Zeitoun area, east of Gaza City.
The IDF had issued an evacuation order, and Gazans said they interpreted this as a sign that the Yellow Line was moving again.
Some simply left empty-handed in their haste to evacuate.
Locals described gunfire from Israeli military vehicles, quadcopter drones and artillery shelling.
"The war is not over. That is a big lie. Every day there are attacks, displacements and evictions," said Ismail Kashko, who added that his family feared being hit by Israeli fire as troops approached.
"We live in tents, not in houses. There is nothing to protect us," he said.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around 30 families lost their tents in Zeitoun and needed help with basic supplies.
Satellite images show that dozens of temporary shelters disappeared from the area in July.
Residents of Zeitoun describe seeing Israeli bulldozers and heavy machinery to the east in the area where the army has been building a new base and embankments.
Precautionary measure
The Israeli army told the BBC that its “defensive posture” includes “a security zone, a physical barrier, intelligence capabilities, technological means and operational activity of its troops.”
“These measures are intended to prevent infiltrations and hostile activities, as well as protect both troops and surrounding communities,” the IDF statement added.
“For operational security reasons, we will not provide further details on the components of the deployment, the layout of the barrier or its extent.”
East of the central city of Deir al Balah, families living on farmland told the BBC that the Israeli army gave them just two days' notice before razing the area.
Satellite images show traces of tanks and destroyed structures in the area, with an olive grove more than 500 meters from the Yellow Line apparently razed.
A verified video shows three yellow blocks recently placed at the site, the furthest being more than 300 meters from the Yellow Line drawn after the ceasefire.
Further south, near al Mawasi, Palestinians say other blocks marking the Yellow Line have approached their camps.
They describe daily movements of Israeli tanks, constant gunfire and the construction of high sand embankments.
Tony Reeves, founder of the intelligence analysis company MAIAR, analyzed satellite images and estimated that a section of the embankments in Gaza was up to 7 meters high.
Verified videos and satellite images show that land and roads have been removed, and some buildings demolished to make way for earthen barriers, while Israel has continued its demolition campaign across Gaza since the ceasefire.
In June, days before construction of the barrier began near Rafah, the country's southernmost city, Israeli troops destroyed structures and rows of greenhouses in their path, satellite images show.
In nearby Khan Yunis, IDF drone footage showed the controlled demolition of a group of buildings beyond the Yellow Line.
By July, a barrier had already been built nearby and many more buildings had been destroyed.
Sign of a long occupation
In July alone, satellite images show that dozens more buildings were destroyed beyond the Yellow Line in Khan Yunis, Deir al Balah, Zeitoun and in the northern cities of Jabalia and Beit Lahia.
The military has also built dozens of bases, outposts and assembly areas behind the barrier along the Yellow Line.
14 new positions have been established since the October ceasefire, including two that are currently under construction, while another seven established before the ceasefire have been paved or expanded.
The IDF did not respond directly when asked about demolition activities beyond the Yellow Line.
“IDF troops under the command of the Southern Command are deployed in the Yellow Line area in accordance with the ceasefire agreement,” they stated.
Retired Israeli Brigadier General Assaf Orion, senior researcher at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), said the construction of barriers and bases suggests that “the Israel Defense Forces are preparing for a long stay along the Yellow Line, as little (if any) progress has been made in disarming Hamas.”
Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King's College London, noted that the BBC's findings indicate that "Israel is transforming the Yellow Line from a temporary withdrawal boundary to a de facto internal border."
Gazans say the Yellow Line is already having a devastating effect, confining a population of more than two million people to a shrinking space amid a critical humanitarian situation.
“The Yellow Line advances day after day,” declared Abu Kamel Hamami, displaced in Gaza City.
"We constantly move from one street to another. Everything is crowded with people, tents and camps for displaced people," he denounced.
