'A creeping annexation'

Fears that Gaza ceasefire line will become permanent

- Seham Tantesh Gaza Julian Borger

A supposedly temporary yellow line marking Gaza's ceasefire is taking an increasingly physical form as the precarious truce shows signs of stalling, with potentially dramatic consequences for Palestine's future.

Israel Defense Forces troops have started installing yellow concrete markers every 200 metres to delineate the area remaining under Israeli control during the first phase of the ceasefire.

The line cuts Gaza roughly in half. In the western part, Hamas is seeking to reassert its control in the vacuum left by the partial Israeli withdrawal, carrying out public executions of rival militia or gang members it claims are backed by Israel. In the other half, covering the eastern strip as well as the northern and southern borders, the IDF has been reinforcing scores of military outposts and firing at anyone approaching the line, whether it has been marked with yellow blocks or not.

"In our area, the yellow lines aren’t clearly visible. We don’t know where they start or end. I think they’re clearer in other places, but here, nothing is defined,” said Mohammad Khaled Abu al-Hussain, a 31-year-old father of five. His family's house is in al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis and just east of the yellow line, in the IDF-controlled zone.

“As soon as we get close to our homes, bullets start flying from every direction, and sometimes small drones, the quadcopters, hover above us, watching every move,” he said. “Yesterday, I was with my friend when we suddenly came under heavy gunfire. We threw ourselves to the ground and stayed there until the shooting stopped. I couldn’t reach my house.

“It feels like the war hasn’t really ended for me. What’s the point of a ceasefire if I still can’t return home?”

He added: “It breaks my heart to see people on my way going back to their houses while I remain stuck between hope and fear. But what worries me most is the idea that this line might stay, that no decision will ever allow us to return.”