Secret withdrawal? David Makovsky, director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Project on the Middle East Peace Process, citing Israeli officials, reported on Tuesday that Israel has quietly withdrawn in recent weeks from the so-called "Orange Line" in Gaza and returned to the original Yellow Line stipulated in the ceasefire agreement reached last October.
According to Makovsky, the move was carried out in compliance with the wishes of US President Donald Trump.
The original ceasefire agreement with Hamas left Israel in control of 53% of the Gaza Strip. Israel subsequently expanded the territory under its control in an effort to limit the Hamas terrorist organization's room to maneuver, creating what became known as the Orange Line and bringing more than 60% of Gaza under Israeli control.
Israeli journalist Ariel Kahana also reported that Israel had withdrawn from the Orange Line to the Yellow Line.
The reports follow a Kan News report on Monday evening that a new official operational directive had been issued to IDF troops operating in Gaza, instructing them not to continue expanding the Yellow Line westward.
According to the report, in addition to being prohibited from advancing, troops were explicitly instructed to document every instance in which Hamas violates its obligations under the ceasefire agreement. Soldiers were permitted to use their personal mobile phones, when necessary, to document such violations.
The directives were issued shortly after a marathon series of diplomatic discussions earlier in the day, during which Netanyahu met for approximately four hours with Jared Kushner, an envoy of President Trump, and Nickolay Mladenov, CEO of the Gaza Board of Peace.
The talks took place amid growing American pressure on Israel to move toward implementing Phase Two of the Trump plan for Gaza.
The Yellow Line in its original configuration was established and agreed upon as part of the 20-point plan presented by President Trump in September of last year. Under the original framework, slightly more than half of the Gaza Strip remained under Israeli control.
Over the following months, however, the IDF shifted the boundaries of the territory under its effective control westward, until Israel held nearly two-thirds of the Gaza Strip.