By BNN Web Staff
Gaza City, 21 Nov 2025 – Dozens of Palestinian families are trapped and “besieged” in northern Gaza, local authorities reported Thursday, as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the enclave, breaching a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Gaza’s Government Media Office stated that Israeli troops and tanks advanced approximately 300 meters (984 feet) beyond the designated “yellow line” in eastern Gaza City – an unmarked boundary set under last month’s truce between Israel and Hamas. This line allowed Israel to maintain control over more than half of Gaza’s coastal territory while routinely firing on Palestinians approaching it.
“The fate of many of these families remains unknown amid the shelling that targeted the area,” the office said, condemning the move as a “blatant disregard” for the ceasefire. “This expansion shows Israel’s intent to squeeze Palestinians further into a shrinking space.”
On-the-Ground Escalation
Al Jazeera correspondent Hind Khoudary, reporting from Gaza City, observed Israeli soldiers erecting yellow blocks and signs to mark the new, deeper deployment line in the eastern Shujayea neighborhood. “But the entire boundary hasn’t been marked, so many Palestinians don’t know exactly where it is,” she said. “With this latest push in Shujayea, more families can’t reach their homes. People describe it as a cage – they’re being pushed and squeezed into the western parts of Gaza.”
The Israeli military has not commented publicly on the reports of violating the yellow line.
Rising Casualties and Despair
The incursion coincides with a spike in Israeli strikes across Gaza, fueling widespread fear in the war-torn territory. Gaza’s Palestinian Health Ministry reported at least 32 people killed and 88 wounded in attacks over the past 24 hours as of Thursday morning. Medics detailed an Israeli airstrike on a home in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, that killed three – including a baby girl – and injured 15 others.
An Al Jazeera analysis found Israel has violated the October 10 truce nearly 400 times since it took effect.
Displaced residents voiced growing desperation. Mohammed Hamdouna, a 36-year-old father sheltering in a tent, told AFP: “We’re still living in tents. The cities are rubble, crossings are closed, and basic necessities are scarce. People are dying daily from the shelling.”
Lina Kuraz, 33, from Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood, echoed the sentiment: “Every time we try to regain hope, the shelling starts again. When will this nightmare end?”
