Israel expanding Gaza ‘yellow line’ to derail ceasefire talks, says Hamas

Hamas stated that Israel’s ongoing westward shift of the “yellow line” within the Gaza Strip and its expanding control over Palestinian land are intended to undermine the negotiation process and obstruct efforts to secure a ceasefire, Anadolu reports.

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem made the remarks while Palestinian factions and mediators convened in Cairo to discuss unresolved matters concerning the ceasefire agreement.

Over the past week and through Friday, Israeli forces advanced the yellow line westward by roughly 300 meters in several locations across the Gaza Strip, notably in the Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City, witnesses reported.

The “yellow line” denotes the demarcation line to which Israeli troops withdrew during the initial phase of the United States‑proposed plan to end the Gaza war, which commenced in October 2025; however, Israel has yet to implement the required withdrawal.

Since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces have killed and injured dozens of Palestinians, asserting that the casualties resulted from attempts to cross the line.

Qassem said that the army’s westward displacement of the yellow line in Gaza City, together with subsequent shelling and forced displacement, constitutes a clear breach of the ceasefire agreement.

He added that the move highlights the failure of guarantor states and the Peace Council to curb Israeli violations, underscoring earlier threats by Israel to enlarge its control within Gaza.

On May 15, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that Israeli forces control 60 % of the Gaza Strip and announced plans to extend that control to 70 %.

Qassem noted that negotiations are ongoing in Cairo, even as he characterized the Palestinian factions’ stance in talks with mediators as positive.

He said that Israeli actions demonstrate a reluctance to implement the ceasefire and seek to sabotage the negotiation track, while escalation serves political and electoral objectives.

Hamas announced on Tuesday that acceptable solutions had been reached on several contentious issues related to the Gaza ceasefire agreement during the Cairo‑hosted talks.

Qassem told Anadolu that the participants achieved initial understandings on the thorny issues in the agreement, though he declined to reveal the specifics of those understandings.

These developments occur as Israel continues to breach the ceasefire by restricting the entry of agreed quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies, shelter materials and prefabricated homes into Gaza and by failing to open the designated crossings.

The violations have resulted in 981 Palestinian deaths and 3,111 injuries, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians now reside in tents and temporary shelters throughout Gaza after their homes were destroyed or severely damaged by the war, prompting repeated displacement and leaving the camps without basic necessities or essential services.

Since the war began on October 8 2023, approximately 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 173,000 wounded, with widespread destruction affecting 90 % of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.

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