Gaza's 'Yellow Line' residents describe life as 'remnants' amid constant displacement

Palestinians living along the so-called 'Yellow Line' in eastern Gaza City describe a life of unrelenting uncertainty, where families are forced to abandon their homes every few months with no clear destination.

Ola Eshtawi, a resident of the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, sat with her children in front of their destroyed home, saying they have no tent, no money, and no idea where to go. "At any moment, we may be forced to leave all our belongings and everything we have behind and flee with our children," she said, adding that they fear losing children in the chaos of an evacuation.

The yellow concrete blocks that give the line its name are scattered along damaged roads and among the ruins of homes, marking areas where the Israeli military has restricted civilian access. The demarcation has expanded since the ceasefire agreement of October 10, further shrinking the space available to Gaza's population.

Safaa Mushtaha, also from Al-Tuffah, said residents have endured humiliation and harsh conditions to stay near the line, but the situation has become unbearable. "Even today, people are still leaving with their belongings, and I ask them: Where are you going? And where are we going to go? But none of us knows where we are going," she said.

In the nearby Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, Ibtisam Malaka described a cycle of displacement that occurs every two to three months. "We lost our children in the war. We lost most of them, and only remnants of us remain. We have become remnants," she said.

Ahmed Erhaim, also from Al-Zeitoun, said nightly gunfire from military drones makes sleep impossible for adults and children alike. "Some of them have started wetting themselves because of fear," he said. "We are displaced every day. We are constantly being displaced. This is not a life."

The United Nations reports that most of Gaza's population of roughly 2.1 million remains displaced, with residents confined to less than 40 percent of the territory due to Israeli restrictions on access beyond the Yellow and Orange lines. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 1.98 million people — 94 percent of the population — require shelter and non-food assistance, with 58 percent facing shelter needs classified as critical or catastrophic.