Israeli bombing of a Palestinian refugee camp in Gaza. Photo: AFP.
By Youssef Fares – Nov 26, 2025
Israel is tightening its control over Gaza’s map, expanding the “yellow line” zone and committing daily violations with no pushback from mediators or the wider international community. Over the past week, the Israeli occupation has pushed the zone 300 meters westward, adding new yellow concrete blocks across eastern Shujaiya, Shaaf, and eastern Tuffah. It has also seized more land in Jabalia camp, Beit Lahia, Bani Suhaila, and Al-Qarara. The army now imposes permanent fire-control over hundreds of meters around these positions, giving it effective control over nearly 60% of the Gaza Strip.
This expanded zone has become the scene of near-daily killings. On Sunday, a day described as relatively calm, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians. The army said three had crossed the yellow line, while witnesses disputed the claim. Israeli forces shot another man dead in Shaaf, also well beyond the yellow line boundary.
This control allows the army to shape the narrative, while independent verification remains impossible. The pattern reflects a broader approach in which Israel reshapes the ceasefire parameters according to its ‘security needs’ while normalizing routine breaches.
Saturday evening marked the latest escalation, the fourth in 44 days. The army claimed that Al-Qassam Brigades fighter attacked its positions along the yellow line east of Khan Younis. Hours later, it launched a pre-planned assassination campaign targeting senior figures in Palestinian armed factions.
Israeli airstrikes hit a civilian car in central Gaza City, killing five people. The army’s spokesperson said one of the casualties was Al-Qassam Brigades logistics chief. Additional strikes hit homes in Gaza City and Nuseirat camp, as well as an apartment crowded with displaced civilians. The strikes killed 20 Palestinians and injured 83.
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Although the escalation was brief, the strikes targeted commanders who had survived repeated assassination attempts over the past two years. The pattern suggests that new intelligence drives each round of attacks on high-value targets. The army said it killed Alaa la-Hadidi, head of supply in Hamas’ production headquarters and deputy commander of the Gaza City Brigade. It also recently claimed the killing of Imad Aslim, commander of Al-Zeitoun Battalion, in a strike on a building sheltering displaced families. Aslim played a key role in ambush operations in Al-Zeitoun and had been reported killed several times before.
These confrontations come with heavy nighttime demolitions. In Tal Al-Zaatar, east of Jabalia, bulldozers have flattened all homes and replaced them with an elevated military site where tanks fire on returning residents. In Shujaiya, the army continues to build new military positions and communication posts, tightening its hold on the area even as the ceasefire’s next phase remains stalled.
The scale of settlement-style construction and logistical activity indicates that the Israeli occupation has no intention of moving to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which requires a withdrawal to the ‘red line’ near the border fence.
Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation led by Leadership Council Chief Muhammad Darwish, and including Khaled Meshaal, Khalil Al-Hayya, Nizar Awadallah, Zaher Jabarin, and Political Bureau member Ghazi Hamad, met in Cairo two days ago with Egypt’s intelligence chief Hassan Rashad. The discussions focused on the ceasefire’s progress, conditions in Gaza, and the contours of the agreement’s second phase.
In a statement, Hamas said the delegation reaffirmed full commitment to the first phase and called for ending the Israeli occupation’s ongoing violations through a clear monitoring mechanism overseen by the mediators. The talks also covered the situation of Rafah fighters in the south, with Hamas noting that communication with them has been cut off in the eastern areas under occupation control.
According to AFP, a Hamas official said the meetings will also address arrangements for forming an independent Palestinian technocratic committee. The delegation is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several Palestinian factions to discuss internal dynamics, Gaza’s governance, and efforts to set up a forthcoming Fatah–Hamas meeting in Cairo.
