The ceasefire in Gaza has been marred by daily Israeli attacks across the entire territory, but more so near the so-called “Yellow Line”, where Israeli occupation forces are concentrated.
In new horrifying testimonies to the Associated Press, Israeli occupation soldiers admitted that Palestinian civilians are directly targeted near the “Yellow Line” amid orders to open fire on anyone approaching or crossing the area, which keeps expanding as “Israel” seeks to occupy Gaza.
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In many instances, Israeli soldiers celebrated the killing of Palestinians. One reservist recalled fellow troops cheering and congratulating one another after an Israeli attack on a car killed everyone inside.
“It was a jungle,” the soldier told AP. “After the ceasefire, the order was: If someone crosses the line, you shoot them.”
Since the ceasefire was reached in October 2025, “Israel” has killed over 900 Palestinians, including women and children, and wounded thousands of others. “To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” one soldier told AP.
The deadly enforcement of the ‘Yellow Line’
When the supposed ceasefire took effect, the Israeli occupation withdrew forces to a buffer zone marked by a “Yellow Line” that left it in control of more than half of the Gaza Strip. Under the agreement, Israeli troops were expected to carry out a broader withdrawal.
Guarantor efforts to advance the agreement have since stalled, while Israeli troops have further entrenched their occupation of Gaza rather than withdrawing.
The “Yellow Line” itself has often been difficult to identify. In some locations, it is marked with yellow barrels and blocks, while in others, there are no visible indicators, making it difficult for Palestinian civilians to locate the line.
An Israeli military commander claimed to AP that Palestinians frequently approach the area to test military responses. “There is no reason for anyone to come near the line,” the commander said. “There’s nothing here.”
However, it is worth recalling that before the “Yellow Line”, the Palestinian area consisted of homes, stores, and belongings that civilians were forced to leave behind after being forcibly displaced by Israeli occupation forces.
‘Shoot to kill’
Soldiers who spoke to AP and members of the whistleblower organization Breaking the Silence described situations in which troops opened fire without clearly identifying who they were targeting.
One soldier said troops were often required to make rapid decisions from long distances, making it difficult to determine whether individuals near the line were armed or posed any immediate danger. Many of the civilians killed in the area were children.
Although soldiers were expected to obtain approval before carrying out strikes, the reservist said coordinates were sometimes provided based on assumptions or the last known location of a moving target.
Breaking the Silence, which has collected testimonies from soldiers throughout the genocide, said rules of engagement around the “Yellow Line” were highly permissive. The organization stated that in many areas, troops effectively operated under a “shoot to kill” policy for anyone crossing the boundary.
Nadav Weiman, the group’s executive director, said military policies and command decisions had created conditions in which civilians were being killed for crossing boundaries that were unclear or invisible.
In testimony collected by the organization and reviewed by AP, one soldier described receiving instructions regarding anyone crossing the line: “eliminate him no matter what.”
Palestinian lives were treated as expendable
Another reservist who served in Gaza after the ceasefire said commanders repeatedly stressed the need to hold the line under all circumstances. “There was a general feeling that human lives are not valuable,” he told AP.
The soldier said concerns about clearly marking the “Yellow Line” were dismissed by superiors, who said that Palestinians should “already know where it was located.”
He also described the emotional toll of service in Gaza, where warning shots were sometimes fired at people approaching the area. According to the soldier, commanders increasingly encouraged more aggressive responses in the name of force protection.
The soldiers who spoke to AP said many troops believed the Israeli occupation intended to remain in Gaza indefinitely rather than carry out a full withdrawal under the ceasefire agreement.
Their accounts highlighted a military culture in which Palestinian deaths near the buffer zone became routine and, in some cases, were openly celebrated by soldiers.
Drastic escalation in bloodshed
An internal report circulated among humanitarian organizations and reviewed by AP said Israeli attacks across Gaza have become “increasingly proactive” in recent months.
Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, a US-based nonprofit, found that April was the deadliest month in Gaza this year. The number of recorded deaths near the “Yellow Line”, or involving people who crossed it, rose by more than 25%, increasing from 58 in January to 73 in April.
Earlier this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “Israel” currently occupies 60% of Gaza and intends to expand that occupation to 70%.
The continued bloodshed has clearly shown the reality of the so-called ceasefire. One occupation soldier even admitted, “We need to stop using this term. It’s not serving people that want to stop the war.”
