As Israel’s military advances its yellow line, Gazans fear they’re being pushed to the sea
Edge of military control in Gaza has marched west since October ceasefire
On a Gaza seaside that looks more like a beach resort than a battleground, Palestinians splash in the sun.
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Palestinians → advance → sun
This crowd is grateful for peaceful pauses in a war that's dragged into its third summer.
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that → drag → summer
But despite talk of peace negotiations and withdrawals, very few believe it's over.
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it → believe → negotiations
"This war has taught me to be afraid of hope," said Tamer Al-Sheikh.
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Sheikh → teach → hope
"We've hoped a lot through four or five truces, but the conflict continues."
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conflict → hop → truces
With only a few pauses, Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza almost daily as Israel says it is targeting wanted Hamas militants.
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it → hit → militants
At the same time, Israeli troops have continued creeping west, expanding their military footprint and squeezing two million Palestinians into an ever smaller area, forcing a scramble for survival toward the Mediterranean Sea.
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troops → continue → Sea
Under the Gaza peace agreement last October, Israel accepted that it would pull back its troops behind what's known as the "yellow line," the edge of Israeli military control inside Gaza.
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what → accept → Gaza
That would amount to less than 50 per cent of the territory along its border.
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That → amount → border
But Israel's army now controls more than 60 per cent, saying the new boundary is necessary for "operational security."
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boundary → control → security
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he's told his generals to keep going to 70 per cent.
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he → say → cent
Earlier this month, he rejected a U.S. plan to phase out both Israeli military and Hamas militant control of Gaza, saying Israel "will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed."
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Hamas → reject → withdrawal
The militant group has agreed to give up weapons only in tandem with a phased Israeli pullback, leaving a deadlock.
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group → agree → deadlock
CBC's visual investigations team has verified the near constant forward movement of Israeli troops and expansion of the yellow line using satellite images.
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team → verify → images
Eyewitness accounts and video captured by freelancers on the ground in Gaza have confirmed the military advances.
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accounts → capture → advances
Blocks move without warning
Palestinians regularly wake up to find the yellow cement markers sitting right next to their homes, nudged metres or hundreds of metres closer overnight.
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markers → move → metres
"Suddenly, at 6 a.m. I saw the stones had moved," said Hala Mustaha, pointing to bright yellow blocks in the middle of Salah al-Din Street in Gaza City.
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Mustaha → see → City
"My neighbours were already moving their things, but I have no idea where I can go."
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I → move → idea
Essam Dawla had to transplant his family four times.
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Dawla → have → family
"The tanks came day after day to shoot at us," he said, describing the days after the yellow blocks appeared.
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blocks → come → days
"Then came the Apache helicopters, with bullets flying into our house.
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bullets → come → house
You can't imagine the panic."
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You → imagine → panic
In the north, satellite images show how the yellow line has moved from October to July, with the nearby Halawa tent camp growing more than 20 times larger as displaced Palestinians are pushed here from their previous shelters.
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Palestinians → show → shelters
In the camp, Ismail Al-Barsh sits in front of his tent with a grandson on his lap.
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Barsh → sit → lap
He lost another grandson when the boy's classroom was hit by an Israeli airstrike near the yellow line.
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classroom → lose → line
He's afraid the same will happen here.
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same → happen → ?
"Now even Halawa isn't safe," Al-Barsh said.
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Barsh → say → ?
"Every day, we see more gunfire, to advance the yellow line, again."
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we → see → line
More than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed here since the ceasefire started last fall, according to UN figures.
uncertain
ceasefire → kill → figures
That brings the total of Gazans who have died since this conflict started on Oct. 7, 2023, to more than 70,000, a figure compiled by Gaza officials and reportedly accepted by Israel.
uncertain
conflict → bring → Israel
'Defensive measures' says Israel
Israel insists its movement of the yellow line is consistent with the ceasefire deal.
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movement → say → deal
In a written reply to questions from CBC News, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it is working "to clearly and visually mark the location of the Yellow Line on the ground in order to reduce friction" with Palestinians.
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it → write → Palestinians
"Defensive measures," it said, "are intended to prevent infiltrations and hostile activity, and to protect both the troops and surrounding communities" in Israel.
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it → say → Israel
Those IDF measures include the construction of a berm — a dirt barrier piled high — that the UN says now stretches 23 kilometres, along or behind the yellow line.
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UN → include → line
It towers in the distance over many of the tent camps.
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It → tower → camps
And, increasingly, Israel is building fortified compounds that look like permanent Israeli military bases.
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that → build → bases
Gaza's neighbourhoods flattened
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neighbourhoods → flatten → ?
Satellite images show one of those military compounds — well inside Gaza — about half way between Israel's border and the sea.
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images → show → border
It has permanent guard posts, multiple structures and a paved parking lot — all protected by tanks.
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all → have → tanks
Another one, further south in Jabalia, is even larger, and seems more established.
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one → seem → Jabalia
…and 27 more, not listed.
The Aporia
