ISRAELI OCCUPIED AND STARVED GAZA, 18 Oct. - (ANA) - Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has instructed Israeli forces to physically demarcate the "Yellow Line" inside Gaza and to kill anyone who crosses it, according to Israeli media reports cited by the New Arab website.

 

The "Yellow Line" separates areas under Israeli military control - more than 50 percent of Gaza - as outlined in US President Donald Trump's Gaza ceasefire plan.

 

In accordance with the first phase of the plan, Israeli forces have withdrawn behind the line, which will now become a 'death zone' with a 'shoot on sight' policy for soldiers.

 

Israeli news outlet Walla reported on Friday that the line would now be marked on the ground, "with the aim of warning Hamas militants and Gaza residents that breaches or attempts to cross the line will be met with gunfire".

 

Despite the ceasefire coming into force on Monday, Israel has committed dozens of ceasefire violations by shelling Palestinians, including some who allegedly crossed the Yellow Line. In one instance on Wednesday, Israel's air force bombed a group of Palestinians it claimed were advancing towards troops in the Shujaiya area.

 

Walla quoted reserve officers who had left Gaza as saying that there were Palestinians "defying the [Israeli] forces in the south of the Gaza Strip, but especially in the north". The sources added that it was "unclear" whether they were residents seeking to return to their homes or if they were Hamas operatives.

 

The officers acknowledged that the Palestinians may not be aware of the exact contours of the "Yellow Line", with soldiers who left Gaza also criticising the positioning of Israeli forces deep in Palestinian territories, near the line.

 

Sources who spoke to the Israeli news outlet said that Tel Aviv believes Hamas was attempting to delay returning the bodies of Israeli captives to stall the second part of the ceasefire deal, which requires the Palestinian faction to disarm and relinquish control of Gaza.

 

Hamas has said it needs time to return the bodies of the remaining 19 captives, as Israel has blocked the entry of heavy machinery into Gaza. The bodies are believed to be under the rubble of Gaza, along with the remains of an unknown number of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes.

 

Israel has threatened to resume strikes on Gaza, with Trump also issuing a warning to Hamas over its crackdown on alleged collaborators and armed groups.

 

"If Hamas continues to kill people in Gaza, which was not the Deal, we will have no choice but to go in and kill them," Trump said on Truth Social on Thursday. - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/18 October 2025 - - -