Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir has openly described the so-called “yellow line”, a north–south axis cutting through the Gaza Strip and marking the point of Israel’s pullback, as “a new border line” with Gaza.
Addressing Israeli troops inside the besieged strip on Sunday, Zamir said, "We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines. The yellow line is a new border line - serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity."
Israeli forces withdrew to the "yellow line" in October as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan with the Palestinian-based resistance movement Hamas.
Zamir’s remarks came even as the ceasefire agreement explicitly requires a full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, a US official said that the US is preparing to announce a transition into the second phase of the truce plan in the coming weeks.
The announcement would include the unveiling of a new governing body in Gaza, led by the so-called Board of Peace, along with the launch of an “International Stabilization Force” in the strip, ABC News reported.
It is anticipated that Trump will soon disclose the names of the individuals and countries participating in the mechanism as part of his announcement.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also confirmed that the second phase of the plan is "close", as he is expected to discuss it during the upcoming meeting with Trump at the White House by the end of this month.
“We’ll be having very important conversations at the end of the month on how to ensure that this second stage is achieved," Netanyahu stated.
In a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in al-Quds on Sunday, Netanyahu said broader normalization with Arab states remains possible, while he reiterated that Israel won’t accept a Palestinian state.
He claimed that a Palestinian state would threaten the occupying regime’s existence.
His remarks come as Trump pressed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to move towards normalizing ties with Israel, after a ceasefire was reached in Gaza.
Riyadh has long insisted that it will only normalize ties with Tel Aviv if the regime agrees to establish a time-bound, irreversible pathway to a future Palestinian state.
Israel has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians since launching its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, following the al-Aqsa Storm operation, before a ceasefire deal was reached in the besieged strip last October.
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