A painted row of concrete blocks now cuts across Gaza’s farmland — and for thousands of farmers it marks the end of their livelihoods. Known as the “yellow line”, the Israeli military’s new deployment zone has swallowed vast stretches of agricultural land. Farmers can see their fields from a distance, but stepping closer risks gunfire. For many, the land that once fed Gaza now sits beyond reach. A Line That Erased a Livelihood Farmer Enad stops short of the yellow barrier near Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, scanning the distance for signs of life in the fields he once cultivated. Before the war he planted mallow, peppers, onions and aubergines across eight dunams of land, producing food for a population already struggling under blockade. Then Israeli tanks rolled in and forced him to flee under fire. He has not returned since. His farmland now lies inside the military zone. The Buffer Zone Expands Under a ceasefire framework linked to a US-backed plan, Israeli forces withdrew from city centres but redeployed along a sweeping corridor stretching roughly 65km from Rafah in the south to Beit Hanoun in the north. The zone varies from 300 to 1,000 metres wide — sometimes reaching 1,500 metres — and is marked on the ground by yellow-painted blocks. The strip covers roughly 53 per cent of Gaza’s territory. Behind that line sits about 60 per cent of the enclave’s most fertile farmland. Farmers Locked Out of Their Own Fields For farmers like Yassin, the consequences are immediate and brutal. His 17 dunams of farmland now sit inside the military zone, effectively off-limits. “The army destroyed my house and bulldozed the land,” he said. “For two years I have not been able to plant or farm it.” He mourns the loss of the orchards more than the ruins of his home. Lemon, olive and grape trees take decades to mature — time he fears he no longer has. Agriculture on the Brink Before the war, agriculture covered roughly 195,000 dunams across Gaza and employed around 560,000 people either full-time or seasonally. The sector generated about $343m (£270m) annually — roughly 11 per cent of the territory’s economy. Now, according to UN data, about 94 per cent of agricultural land is unusable due to destruction or military control. Only six per cent remains accessible. Vegetables that once flooded Gaza’s markets have become scarce. Prices have soared and food shortages have deepened. A New Border Taking Shape Israeli military leaders have signalled the yellow line may become more than a temporary deployment zone. Chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir described it as a “new border line” separating Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza — both a defensive buffer and a forward operating line. For farmers watching their land from afar, the message is stark: the soil that once sustained Gaza may now sit permanently on the other side of the line. The Gaza farmers who can’t touch their land on Israel’s ‘yellow line’
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