IDF reservists serving in central Gaza say they are watching Hamas terrorists operate beyond the Yellow Line but are increasingly restricted from acting against them under tightened ceasefire rules.
Exclusive drone footage obtained by ynet appears to show two Hamas terrorists moving suspiciously among the ruins beyond the line, digging in the ground and passing a bucket between them while trying to conceal their activity. The footage, recorded on August 7, shows the two men arriving with an empty bucket, emerging from deep inside the rubble and moving it from one location to another.
IDF troops say they can see Hamas operating beyond ceasefire line but are barred from acting
“You can see Hamas operatives. They are not armed, but they are digging something, and there is activity going on among these ruins,” a commander in the sector told ynet. “He is handling something in the ground, and the drone follows him beyond the Yellow Line. Two people are not operating a tunnel, but there is something they are dealing with, digging between the collapsed buildings. They go inside as if they are trying to hide. We don’t know what it is, but it is clearly not innocent. That is how we know they are preparing for something.”
The commander said troops can document the activity, but their ability to intervene is limited once Hamas operatives are beyond the Yellow Line. “Our activity here is mainly defensive,” he said. “We are operating all the time in case they cross. These are actions meant to deal with a situation in which they cross, not actions that will prevent them from crossing.”
He said the most likely scenario is a limited Hamas attack intended to exploit those restrictions. “The reasonable course of action is that they will hit us with a sting,” he said. “They will organize, cross the Yellow Line, carry out an attack with an explosive device or gunfire, and then run back. We see them preparing for the moment when they do it. We are basically waiting for their most likely course of action.”
‘My hands are tied’
The force was called up about two months ago and is expected to complete its current rotation in another month, adding another 100 days of reserve service to the hundreds many of the soldiers have already served during the war. The commander said the limits on offensive action have become a source of growing frustration.
“They bring us here for 100 days of reserve duty. If they already bring us here, we want to work,” he said. “We understand the constraints, but we don’t want to sit around doing nothing.”
He described the current situation as a “ceasefire war,” in which both sides continue operating while trying not to trigger a broader collapse of the agreement. “There is a ceasefire, but each side is still operating, both us and Hamas,” he said. “We do it quietly so as not to heat up the sector too much and so as not to break the credit we have.”
According to the commander, the restrictions have tightened further amid diplomatic discussions over the roadmap for Gaza. “Today we are not allowed to fire beyond the Yellow Line,” he said. “We understand that sometimes there is an international game, agreements, powers, all of that is understood. But in the end, you see the other side operating and you are somewhat limited. My hands are tied up to a point. Now they have tightened the procedures, and we are not allowed to operate beyond the Yellow Line.”
Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting Tuesday with Jared Kushner, special envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump, the IDF reiterated an instruction issued about a month ago not to continue pushing the Yellow Line westward. According to the IDF, Israeli forces currently hold about 65% of the Gaza Strip. Troops have also been instructed to document Hamas violations along the line in order to gather evidence ahead of any possible Israeli response.
The commander said that in practice, troops frequently observe suspicious movement on the other side. “We know and work on the assumption that Hamas is operating there, and sometimes you can actually see them,” he said. Over the past two months, he added, forces have observed repeated movement in and out of buildings and people carrying unidentified items under cover of the civilian population.
“We are simple soldiers on the ground,” he said. “We report a building that constantly has people going in and out, and we pass it upward.”
That is where, he said, military reality gives way to political considerations. “If he is inside the Yellow Line, then fine, we act,” he said. “But once it is outside the Yellow Line, it becomes a political game. Every so often you see footage so clearly that you say, ‘Come on, let me fire a shell there, let me do something,’ because it is right in front of us and we know it is there.”
‘A war over who breaks the ceasefire’
The commander said troops understand the diplomatic and security constraints, but the gap between what they observe and what they are allowed to do has become increasingly difficult. “We understand that sometimes there are political and security constraints, and we trust those who need to manage it,” he said. “But sometimes it is very blatant when you want to act.”
“All the shells we fire are within the Yellow Line. We fire at very close targets so nothing crosses the line. Even with the diplomatic justification, it has turned from a ceasefire war into a war over credit, over how you avoid being the one who breaks the ceasefire.”
Scene of the Tuesday strike in Gaza City
The restrictions come as diplomatic pressure on Hamas is also intensifying. Following Netanyahu’s meeting with Kushner, the Board of Peace is reportedly considering abandoning a gradual process for Hamas and other terrorist groups to surrender their weapons in favor of a single move in which all weapons would be removed from Gaza, followed by a full IDF withdrawal.
Fox News reported that Kushner delivered Hamas a “firm ultimatum” to honor the agreements it signed and disarm, or face an IDF operation that would “finish the job.” Kushner said it would take time to determine whether the 15-point roadmap would be implemented, but warned that if Hamas failed to meet its commitments, “everyone will see that they are not sincere about peace,” and Israel would receive broader support from the United States and other countries to act.
Earlier Wednesday, the IDF carried out an unusual airstrike at Gaza Port targeting Nukhba commanders during a meeting in the area. According to the IDF spokesperson, the strike targeted terrorists, including one identified as having participated in the October 7 attack on Israel. Palestinian reports said seven people were killed and 14 wounded. It was not immediately clear whether the intended target was killed.