Amid questions loom over the longevity of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, Israel on Sunday signalled that it would not back down beyond the Yellow Line, calling it the “new border”. The statement came from the Israeli military, with army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir making the announcement. “We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defence lines. The Yellow Line is a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity.

What is the Yellow Line?

Under the Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) were required to withdraw to positions behind the Yellow Line. The area east of the Yellow Line, controlled by Israel, accounts for 53-58% of the area of the Gaza Strip.

It should be noted that the status of the Yellow Line is officially temporary, serving as a de facto military border inside Gaza. Later phases of the peace plan envision further Israeli withdrawals and the eventual deployment of the International Stabilization Force (ISF).

By the second withdrawal (and the deployment of the ISF), Israel’s share of territory in Gaza is expected to be reduced to 40%, before a further reduction to 15% by the third withdrawal.

What comes next?

Zamir’s statement on Sunday comes shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled a move towards the second phase of the ceasefire.

During a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Netanyahu said that Tel Aviv and Hamas were “very shortly expected to move into the second phase of the ceasefire”, adding that such a move would only take place after the Palestinian militant group returned the remains of the last Israeli hostage.

Hamas has yet to handover the remains of 24-year-old Ran Gvili, a police officer who was killed during the 7 October attack of 2023.

The return of Gvili’s remains to Tel Aviv— and Israel’s return of 15 bodies of Palestinians in exchange—would mark the completion of the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

‘Hamas has to be dismantled’

With Israel and Hamas seemingly set to progress to the second part of the peace plan, Netanyahu highlighted difficulties with the third phase.

“As I mentioned to the [German] chancellor, there’s a third phase, and that is to deradicalize Gaza, something that also people believed was impossible,” the Israeli PM said during a press conference with Merz.

“But it was done in Germany, it was done in Japan, it was done in the Gulf States. It can be done in Gaza, too, but of course Hamas has to be dismantled,” Netanyahu added.