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IDF CHIEF SAYS CEASEFIRE LINE IS A ‘NEW BORDER,’ SUGGESTING GOAL
TO ANNEX MORE THAN HALF OF GAZA  
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Stephen Prager
December 8, 2025
Common Dreams
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_ Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a physician and Palestinian leader, said the
statement “indicates dangerous Israeli intentions of annexing 53% of
the little Gaza Strip, and to prevent reconstruction of what Israel
destroyed in Gaza.” _

A general view of a concrete block marking the “yellow line”
drawn by the Israeli military in Bureij, central Gaza Strip, on
November 4, 2025., (Photo by Bashar Taleb/AFP)

 

The top-ranking officer in the Israel
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that Israel may plan to permanently take over more than half of Gaza
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as part of a temporary arrangement under the latest “ceasefire”
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agreement.

That agreement, signed in early October, required Israel to withdraw
its forces behind a so-called “yellow line” as part of the first
phase, which left it occupying over half of the territory on its side.
Gaza’s nearly 2 million inhabitants, meanwhile, are crammed into a
territory of about 60 square miles—the vast majority of them
displaced and living in makeshift structures.

The deal
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Israel agreed to in principle says this is only a temporary
arrangement. Later phases would require Israel to eventually pull back
entirely, returning control to an “International Stabilization
Force” and eventually to Palestinians
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buffer zone between the territories under Israel’s direct control.

 
But on Sunday, as he spoke to troops in Gaza
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Eyal Zamir described
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yellow line not as a temporary fixture of the ceasefire agreement, but
as “a new border line” between Israel and Gaza.

Zamir stated that Israel has “operational control over extensive
parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines,”
adding that “the yellow line is a new border line—serving as a
forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational
activity.”

The IDF chief did not elaborate further on what he meant, but many
interpreted the comments as a direct affront to the core of the
ceasefire agreement.

“The Israeli chief of staff said today that the yellow line in Gaza
is the new border between Israel and Gaza,” said
[[link removed]] Dr. Mustafa
Barghouti, who serves as general secretary of the Palestinian National
Initiative, a political party in the West Bank
[[link removed]]. He said it “indicates
dangerous Israeli intentions of annexing 53% of the little Gaza Strip,
and to prevent reconstruction of what Israel destroyed in Gaza.”

Zamir’s statement notably comes shortly after a report from the
Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights
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provided new details
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US-led proposal to resettle tens of thousands of Palestinians at a
time into densely packed “'cities’ of prefabricated container
homes” on the Israeli-controlled side of the yellow line that they
would not be allowed to leave without consent from Israel. The group
likened the plan to “the historical model of ghettos.”

The statement also notably came on the same day that Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at a joint press conference that
Israel’s annexation of the West Bank “remains a subject to be
discussed.” This year has seen a historic surge
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settlers in the illegally occupied territory, which ramped up
following the ceasefire.

 
Israel has already been accused
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by Gaza authorities of violating the ceasefire several hundred times
by routinely launching strikes in Gaza. On Saturday, the UN reported
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that at least 360 Palestinians have been killed since the truce went
into effect on October 10, and that 70 of them have been children
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The IDF often claims that those killed have been Palestinians who
crossed the yellow line. As _Haaretz _reported
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last week: “In many cases, the line Israel drew on the maps is not
marked on the ground. The IDF’s response policy is clear: Anyone who
approaches the forbidden area is shot immediately, even when they are
children [[link removed]].”

On Sunday, _Al Jazeera _and the _Times of Israel _reported
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citing local medics, that Israeli forces had shot a 3-year-old girl,
later identified
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al-Bayok, in southern Gaza’s coastal area of Mawasi, near Khan
Younis. The shooting took place on the Hamas-controlled side of the
yellow line.

Within the same hour on Sunday, the IDF posted
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media [[link removed]]: “IDF troops
operating in southern Gaza identified a terrorist who crossed the
yellow line and approached the troops, posing an immediate threat to
them. Following the identification, the troops eliminated the
terrorist.” It remains unconfirmed whether that statement referred
to al-Bayok, though the IDF has used similar language
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shootings of an 8- and 11-year-old child.

Until recently, Israel has also refused
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to allow for the opening of the Rafah
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significant entry point for desperately needed humanitarian aid
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required
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to enter the strip “without interference” as part of the ceasefire
agreement.

Israel agreed to open the crossing last week, but only to facilitate
the exit of Palestinians from Gaza. In response, eight Arab
governments expressed
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their “complete rejection of any attempts to displace the
Palestinian people from their land.”

Zamir’s comments come as the ceasefire limps
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phase, where US President Donald Trump
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Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will push for the full demilitarization of
Hamas [[link removed]], which Israel has said
would be a precondition for its complete withdrawal from Gaza.

“Now we are at the critical moment,” said Qatari Premier and
Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, at a
conference in Doha on Saturday. “A ceasefire cannot be completed
unless there is a full withdrawal of the Israeli forces there is
stability back in Gaza.”

_Stephen Prager is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* Gaza
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* Israeli Occupation
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* annexation
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* IDF
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