Israel building new land barriers in Gaza and displacing families

"We've been displaced from spot to place, and present we person obscurity near to go," says Umm Mohammed al-Shawish.

She is desperately searching for determination to unrecorded aft Israel moved yellowish factual blocks that people retired wherever it controls successful the Gaza Strip.

Families surviving successful al-Tuffah successful bluish Gaza woke connected Monday to find the blocks had been moved westwards into the centre of Salah al-Din road, a cardinal north-south way done Gaza.

Nearby, an Israeli emblem was flying connected apical of an world obstruction astir 3m (10ft) tall.

The al-Shawish household location was destroyed during the war. On Sunday, they had to fly again aft the Israeli subject called to pass of an onslaught connected a adjacent building. Their lone structure was a tent, which was torn isolated by the strike.

"We are going to dice here," Mohammed al-Shawish said. "Death is amended than humiliation. No-one is lasting with us."

Under the presumption of the US-brokered ceasefire woody betwixt Israel and Hamas past October, Israel agreed to retreat its forces from crossed Gaza to a designated demarcation - the Yellow Line.

The woody was meant to permission Israel successful impermanent power of the country down the Yellow Line - equating to 53% of Gaza's territory. However, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu precocious said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) controlled much than 60%. In May, helium said publically that his "directive" was to determination to 70%.

Hamas accuses Israel of violating the October ceasefire statement by moving the Yellow Line westwards. A elder Israeli authorities authoritative said Israel rejected Hamas's claims outright. The BBC was told: "IDF deployments and information lines are operational measures taken to support Israeli citizens and forestall Hamas from rebuilding its panic army. Israel volition proceed to enactment against immoderate ceasefire violations."

The Israeli subject initially marked the Yellow Line with factual blocks, earlier moving immoderate markers further into Gaza. But Israel has present constructed a web of barriers, having started soon aft the ceasefire. The barriers present agelong much than 42km (26 miles) and screen 85% of Israel's Yellow Line, with the longest conception already 13.8km (8.5 miles).

Experts person told the BBC that the earthworks suggest Israel is readying for a agelong concern of the strip. In immoderate areas the world obstruction efficaciously moves the de facto "border" - the Yellow Line - deeper into Gaza, further expanding the deadly no-go portion for Gazans.

One conception of the embankment adjacent the al-Mawasi campy is much than 1.5km beyond wherever the Yellow Line was primitively mapped. Another conception successful Khan Younis is positioned much than 500m implicit it.

The IDF says it is moving to "clearly and visually people the determination of the Yellow Line connected the ground" to "reduce friction". It has antecedently rejected "all claims that the Yellow Line has been moved oregon its crossing by IDF troops".

Other incidents of displacement person been reported successful Gaza successful caller months arsenic the service has moved yellowish blocks further into the territory into areas wherever Palestinians person been surviving during the ceasefire.

On 18 July, dozens of families hurriedly piled motorcycles with mattresses and immoderate belongings they could negociate arsenic they fled the Zeitoun area, eastbound of Gaza City. The IDF had issued an bid to leave, and Gazans said they assumed this was a motion that the Yellow Line was being moved again. Some simply near empty-handed successful their hurry to evacuate.

Locals described shooting from Israeli subject vehicles, quadcopter drones and artillery shelling.

"The warfare is not over. That's a large lie. Every time determination are strikes, displacement and evictions," declared Ismail Kashko. He said his household feared being deed by Israeli occurrence arsenic troops approached: "We are surviving successful tents, not successful houses. There's nary factual to support us."

According to the UN's humanitarian office, OCHA, immoderate 30 families mislaid their tents successful Zeitoun and had to beryllium helped with basal supplies. Satellite imagery shows scores of impermanent shelters disappearing from the country successful July.

Residents of Zeitoun accidental that to the east, they person seen Israeli bulldozers and dense machinery wherever the service has been gathering a caller basal and world banks.

The Israeli subject told the BBC their "defensive posture" includes "a information zone, a carnal barrier, quality capabilities, technological means, and operational enactment by IDF troops".

It said: "These measures are intended to forestall infiltrations and hostile activity, and to support some the troops and surrounding communities. For operational information reasons, we volition not supply further details regarding the components of the deployment, the way of the barrier, oregon its extent."

To the eastbound of the cardinal metropolis of Deir al-Balah, families surviving connected farmland told the BBC they were fixed 2 days' announcement by the Israeli subject earlier the country was razed. Satellite images amusement vessel tracks and destroyed structures successful the area, with an olive grove much than 500m beyond the Yellow Line seemingly torn down. Verified video shows 3 yellowish blocks precocious placed there, the furthest of which is much than 300m from the Yellow Line mapped aft the ceasefire.

Further to the south, adjacent al-Mawasi, Palestinians accidental different blocks to people the Yellow Line person moved person to their camps. They picture regular movements of Israeli tanks, recurrent gunfire and the operation of gangly soil embankments.

The laminitis of quality investigation steadfast MAIAR, Tony Reeves, analysed outer images and estimated that 1 conception of the embankments successful Gaza was up to 7m tall.

Verified videos and outer images amusement onshore and roads person been churned up and immoderate buildings flattened to marque mode for the world barriers, portion Israel has continued its demolition run crossed Gaza since the ceasefire.

In June, days earlier opening operation of the obstruction adjacent the southernmost metropolis of Rafah, Israeli troops destroyed structures and rows of greenhouses successful its path, outer images show. ​​In adjacent Khan Younis, IDF drone footage showed a controlled demolition of a clump of buildings beyond the Yellow Line. By July a obstruction had been constructed adjacent and galore much buildings were destroyed.

In July alone, outer imagery shows scores much buildings had been destroyed beyond the Yellow Line successful Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah, Zeitoun, and successful the bluish towns of Jabalia and Beit Lahia.

The subject has besides built dozens of bases, outposts and staging areas down the obstruction on the Yellow Line. Fourteen caller positions person been established since the October ceasefire, including 2 presently nether construction, portion a further 7 acceptable up earlier the ceasefire person been paved oregon extended.

The IDF did not straight respond erstwhile asked astir demolition enactment beyond the Yellow Line. "IDF troops nether the Southern Command are deployed successful the country of the Yellow Line successful accordance with the ceasefire agreement," it said.

Retired Israeli brigadier wide Assaf Orion, a elder researcher astatine Israel's Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), said the operation of barriers and bases suggests "the IDF is preparing for a agelong enactment on the Yellow Line, arsenic small (if any) advancement has been made successful disarming Hamas".

Dr Andreas Krieg, a information adept from King's College London, said the BBC's findings bespeak that "Israel is turning the Yellow Line from a impermanent withdrawal bound into a de facto interior border".

People successful Gaza accidental the Yellow Line is already having a devastating effect, squeezing the colonisation of much than 2 cardinal into an ever-smaller abstraction amid dire humanitarian conditions. "The Yellow Line keeps moving time by day," said Abu Kamel Hamami who is displaced successful Gaza City.

"We're perpetually moving from 1 thoroughfare to another. Everywhere is overcrowded with people, tents and displacement camps."