Forensic Architecture: Israel Is Using Ceasefire to Expand Territorial Control and Unground Gaza
Israel is continuing to commit genocide in Gaza long past a ceasefire agreement, according to a new report from the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The findings state that Israeli forces are continuing to commit genocidal acts with the intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, alongside accusations of crimes against humanity in the West Bank including extermination, torture, and rape.
The Israeli Mission in Geneva dismissed the report as part of a misinformation campaign to demonize the State of Israel and to destroy the Jewish state. Meanwhile, United Nations-commissioned experts reported that forces continued using heavy munitions, drones, quadcopters, artillery, and sniper fire in densely populated areas during the ceasefire.
Israel Uses Yellow Line to Expand Territorial Control
When the ceasefire came into effect, 54% of Gaza remained depopulated and under Israeli control, marked by a demarcation known as the Yellow Line, which was presented as a temporary phase one withdrawal marker. According to the organization Forensic Architecture, which has been mapping military conduct since October 2023, Israel is using the line to expand territorial control rather than withdraw.
The military has placed more than 100 concrete yellow blocks signaling areas Palestinians cannot approach, with most positioned well beyond the agreed withdrawal line and moved further into concentrated areas over time. Israel also imposed an additional boundary called the Orange Line, which encroaches more than one kilometer beyond the Yellow Line in some places.
Permanent Reconfiguration
On Tuesday, U.N. special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese called on the International Criminal Court to investigate incitement to genocide by government officials and media figures in Israel, highlighting that over 250 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.