The United Nations human rights office has issued a warning that Israeli military forces may be committing war crimes through the killing of Palestinian civilians who approach the armistice boundary with Hamas.
According to UN data provided exclusively to Reuters, roughly one-third of the 453 verified Palestinian deaths since the October ceasefire through February 5 occurred near the military boundary line. This amounts to 152 individuals – including 102 men, 15 women, 24 boys and 11 girls – who were killed in proximity to what Israel calls the “yellow line.”
Ajith Sunghay, who leads the U.N. Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory, expressed grave concerns about the pattern of deaths. “The available information raises serious concerns that the Israeli army is shooting at and killing presumed civilians simply on the basis of their proximity to the so-called yellow line, which would amount to unlawful killings and thus war crimes,” Sunghay stated, describing the trend as deeply troubling.
He further noted that the victims “do not appear to have posed any risk to the life of the Israeli military, including some cases in which they appear to have been shot while carrying out daily activities or having approached or crossed Israel’s so-called yellow line.”
The Israeli military has established this boundary using concrete blocks placed at intervals to mark what they term a “yellow line.” However, military forces have repeatedly moved these markers further into territory controlled by Hamas, and current Israeli maps indicate their restricted military zone now encompasses nearly two-thirds of Gaza.
This expansion has created anxiety among displaced Palestinians living in temporary shelters and damaged buildings near the boundary, as they fear being targeted while the population becomes compressed into an increasingly smaller area.
Sunghay highlighted the confusion surrounding the boundary’s location, explaining that “nobody clearly knows exactly where it starts, where it ends, and how it moves, and when it moves.”
Israeli authorities justify their control of seized territory in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon as necessary “buffer zones” to prevent potential militant attacks following the Hamas-led assault of October 7, 2023, which triggered the current conflict.
The ceasefire arrangement facilitated by U.S. President Donald Trump has not stopped Israeli military operations in Gaza, with Israeli forces continuing to target Hamas leadership, resulting in two deaths in recent weeks.
Gaza health officials report that approximately 900 Palestinians have died in Israeli strikes since the truce began, though they have not provided location-specific breakdowns. During the same timeframe, four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants, according to the country’s military. Hamas has not released casualty figures for its fighters.
Israeli military officials, who maintain that their forces near the armistice line are working to counter militant threats, did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the UN allegations.
