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UN Warns of Ethnic Cleansing as Israeli Forces Expand ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza

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UN Warns of Ethnic Cleansing as Israeli Forces Expand ‘Yellow Line’ in Gaza
Photo: A boy stands by a man who reacts after houses were destroyed in an Israeli strike on the Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip [File: AFP]

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has warned that Israeli forces are treating the ‘Yellow Line’—the line that marks the boundary of Israeli military deployment—as a kill zone. According to an OHCHR statement issued on Friday, Israeli troops are displacing more Palestinians into a shrinking portion of the besieged enclave. The agency said the army is encroaching beyond the Yellow Line and preventing Palestinians from returning to homes on the other side. The OHCHR also cautioned that the Israeli military is destroying remaining civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites as it seeks to increase its deployment area to 70 percent of Gaza’s territory.

Human rights groups and aid agencies have repeatedly called on Israel to stop forcibly displacing Palestinians and attacking shelters. The OHCHR documented the westward expansion of the Israeli military over the past two weeks, triggering new displacement of Palestinians in Shujayea, Gaza City, eastern Bureij, eastern Deir el‑Balah and eastern al‑Maghazi in Central Gaza. In Shujayea, at least two Israeli attacks were reported on displacement camps, with explosive robots detonating the few buildings left standing. The OHCHR also received reports that an Israeli drone dropped munitions on a tent housing displaced Palestinians at the Shujayea junction on Sunday, resulting in a fire that displaced 200 families comprising 800 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza.

Ajith Sunghay, head of the OHCHR in occupied Palestine, said the “nightmare of displacement” in Gaza was both “acute and chronic”. He added that those displaced before the announcement of a ceasefire have little to no prospect of return to the areas they fled, most of which are inaccessible because they fall beyond the so‑called Yellow Line, and that they continue to be displaced again and again.

Despite an ongoing ceasefire, Israeli attacks on Gaza have continued. Since the agreement came into place on October 11, 2025, at least 1,574 people have been killed and 5,687 others wounded, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health. Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed at least 74,570 people and wounded 175,808 others.

Frequently asked questions

What does the OHCHR say about the expansion of the Yellow Line?

The OHCHR warns that Israeli forces are expanding the Yellow Line, turning it into a kill zone, displacing Palestinians and preventing them from returning to homes beyond the line.

How many families were displaced by the drone attack in Shujayea?

A drone dropped munitions on a tent at the Shujayea junction, displacing 200 families comprising 800 people.

What are the casualty figures since the ceasefire?

Since the ceasefire on October 11, 2025, at least 1,574 people have been killed and 5,687 wounded, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

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