Israel has extended its military occupation of the Gaza Strip, contravening a United States‑brokered ceasefire, forcing Palestinians into an increasingly limited portion of the besieged territory, which remains devastated by Israel’s ongoing war.
Currently, almost two‑thirds of Gaza lies under Israeli military control or is subject to movement restrictions.
The original ‘Yellow Line’, established under U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20‑point plan to end the conflict, originally marked the area to which Israeli forces had withdrawn. Further withdrawals were anticipated, but Israeli forces have instead seized additional territory.
On Sunday, Israeli forces repositioned yellow concrete blocks several dozen metres westward in the Shujayea neighbourhood of southeastern Gaza City, compelling Palestinian families to flee and placing additional sections of the area under Israeli military control.
“The crucial question is not just where the ‘Yellow Line’ stands now, but where it may move next,” Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al‑Khalili reported from Gaza City. “For families repeatedly displaced over the past three years, the conditions remain dire, forcing them to make impossible choices about where they can go.”
Over 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million inhabitants have been forcibly displaced by Israel’s war, which began on October 7, 2023, following Hamas‑led attacks on southern Israel.
Through interactive maps, Al Jazeera illustrates the amount of Gaza that Israel has taken control of since the ‘ceasefire’ was announced.
Gaza before the war
Prior to the conflict, Palestinians inhabited the entire Gaza Strip, a territory measuring roughly 365 km² (141 sq mi) in area, about 41 km (25 mi) long and 6–12 km (4–7 mi) wide.
This density placed Gaza among the most populated regions globally, with approximately 6,000 residents per square kilometre—comparable to Nairobi or London. On average, each person possessed about 160 m² (1,722 sq ft) of land.
Even before the war, access to all of Gaza’s land was limited. Israel maintained a buffer zone along its fence, and Palestinians who approached the area faced the risk of being shot. In 2010, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that the restricted zone comprised 17 percent of Gaza’s total land area and 35 percent of its farmland.
Gaza has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since 2007.
Gaza at the ‘ceasefire’
During the initial phase of the “ceasefire”, Israeli forces were required to withdraw to the “Yellow Line” within 24 hours, followed by a 72‑hour window for the exchange of Israeli captives held in Gaza. President Trump initially released a map of the line on his Truth Social platform.
The delineation placed Israel in control of roughly 53 percent of the Strip—predominantly farmland and eastern border areas—while restricting Palestinians to the remaining 47 percent, approximately 172 km² (66 sq mi).
By October 2025, after two years of conflict, more than 67,000 Palestinians had been killed and tens of thousands had fled, shrinking Gaza’s population to about 2.1 million.
Concentrated into less than half of Gaza’s original territory under the “ceasefire”, the population density doubled to roughly 12,000 people per square kilometre—similar to New York City. Per capita land availability fell to about 82 m² (883 sq ft).
Gaza today
Since the “ceasefire”, Israeli forces have repeatedly shifted the yellow concrete markers defining the “Yellow Line” westward, occasionally during night operations, thereby enlarging the territory under their control. Satellite imagery also records ongoing demolitions in areas held by Israeli forces.
Forensic Architecture reported that Israel controlled approximately 58 percent of Gaza as of December. In March, the Israeli military provided aid agencies with maps outlining a new “orange line”, a restricted zone beyond the “Yellow Line” where humanitarian movements require coordination with the army.
OCHA indicates that movement restrictions now apply to 65 percent of Gaza. Israel has stated it controls roughly 70 percent of the territory, according to a UN official’s briefing to the Security Council in June.
Consequently, 2.1 million people are confined to roughly 35 percent of the Strip, an area of about 128 km² (49 sq mi). The population density has nearly tripled since before the war, reaching approximately 16,000 people per square kilometre—comparable to central Tokyo.
Each individual now has roughly 61 m² (657 sq ft) of land to accommodate shelter, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and agricultural use.
OCHA reports that the remaining 35 percent of Gaza is “already overcrowded”, with access restrictions posing a major barrier as aid organizations attempt to relocate families ahead of the rainy season. Over 950,000 people are living in displacement sites vulnerable to flooding, according to the UN; the majority reside in tents and makeshift shelters, as illustrated in the accompanying satellite image.
Approaching the ‘Yellow Line’ can be lethal. Israel designates the area beyond it as a free‑fire zone, and Palestinians who near it have been shot. Approximately 1,500 individuals have been killed across Gaza since the ceasefire was declared.
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