Israeli troops kill Palestinians for crossing vague ceasefire line
CAIRO: A dividing line, at times invisible, can mean life or death for Palestinians in Gaza.
Those sheltering near the territory’s “yellow line” that the Israeli military withdrew to as part of the October ceasefire say they live in fear as Israeli soldiers direct near-daily fire at anyone who crosses or even lingers near it.
Of the 447 Palestinians killed between the ceasefire taking effect and Tuesday, at least 77 were killed by Israeli gunfire near the line, including 62 who crossed it, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Among them were teenagers and young children, the Associated Press found.
And although the military has placed some yellow barrels and concrete barriers delineating the limits of the Palestinian zone, the line is still unmarked in certain places and in others was laid nearly half a kilometre (0.3 miles) deeper than what was agreed to in the ceasefire deal, expanding the part of Gaza that Israel controls, according to Palestinians and mapping experts.
“We stay away from the barrels. No one dares to get close,” said Gaza City resident Ahmed Abu Jahal, noting that the markers are less than 100 metres (110 yards) from his house — instead of the roughly 500 metres (546 yards) outlined in a map put out by the Israeli military.
As of Tuesday, the military had acknowledged killing 57 people around the yellow line, saying most were militants. It said its troops are complying with the rules of engagement in order to counter militant groups, and are informing Palestinians of the line’s location and marking it on the ground to “reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings.”
Under the ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone that is up to 7 kilometres (4 miles) deep and includes most of Gaza’s arable land, its elevated points and all of its border crossings.
That hem in more than 2 million Palestinians into a strip along the coastline and central Gaza.
People of all ages, some already dead, have been showing up almost daily at the emergency room of Gaza City’s Al-Ahli hospital with bullet wounds from straying near the line, said hospital director Fadel Naeem.
