A new and official operational directive has been issued to IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip, instructing them not to continue expanding the Yellow Line westward, Kan News reported Monday evening.
According to the report, in addition to the prohibition on advancing, soldiers were explicitly instructed to document every instance in which the Hamas terrorist organization violates its obligations under the ceasefire agreement. For the purpose of documenting such violations, troops have been permitted, if necessary, to use their personal mobile phones.
The directives on the ground were issued shortly after the conclusion of a marathon series of diplomatic discussions held earlier in the day, during which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met for approximately four hours with Jared Kushner, an envoy of US President Donald Trump, and Nikolay Mladenov, CEO of the Gaza Board of Peace.
The lengthy talks took place amid growing American pressure on Israel to move toward implementing Phase Two of the Trump plan for the Gaza Strip. Following their meeting with Netanyahu, Kushner and Mladenov continued to another meeting with President Isaac Herzog.
The Yellow Line, in its original configuration, was established and agreed upon as part of the 20-point plan presented by President Donald Trump in September of last year. Under that original framework, slightly more than half of the Gaza Strip remained under Israeli control.
However, over the past several months, the IDF shifted the boundaries of the territory under its effective control and moved the line westward, until Israel held nearly two-thirds of the Gaza Strip.