UNITED NATIONS, July 2 — The expansion of Israeli-controlled areas in the Gaza Strip since the October 2025 ceasefire endangers civilians, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said its partners are calling for the protection of civilians in Gaza, including along the so-called Yellow Line marking the western limit of the Israeli armed forces’ operational area.
The line marked by yellow-painted concrete blocks routinely edges westward, expanding the Israeli security area.
The UN Humanitarian Country Team warned in a statement that the continued expansion of areas under Israeli control is intensifying risks to civilians and further constraining humanitarian efforts.
The team, made up of the heads of UN agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working in the occupied Palestinian territory, said in the statement that human rights partners verified the killing of 196 people, including 18 women and 43 children, between Oct. 10, 2025, and April 2026, in Israeli attacks reported near areas where Israeli forces were deployed.
The statement noted that many people were reportedly killed while moving through areas lacking clear demarcation on the ground and that Palestinians are now concentrated in increasingly limited areas, living amid insecurity and violence with limited access to services.
An NGO consortium focusing on protection in the West Bank said in a new report, released on Monday, that families who were internally displaced also fear having to leave their current locations. About half of the families surveyed said they were at risk of being displaced once again within the next six months, while 86 percent reported worse living conditions compared with their original locations.
The report published on OCHA’s ReliefWeb said that of more than 3,000 Palestinians displaced within the West Bank between January and May this year, more than 71 percent were forced out of their homes or communities by settler attacks and related access restrictions. The remaining 29 percent said their homes were demolished. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
