Israeli soldiers share rare accounts from Gaza, describing ongoing killings despite the ceasefire

Rare accounts from Israeli soldiers reveal continuing violence in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire agreed last October, with multiple reservists describing a pattern of lethal force against Palestinians near the so-called yellow line that delineates Israeli-controlled areas. Speaking anonymously to The Associated Press amid fears of professional ostracism, three soldiers who served in Gaza between October and January said their units were frequently ordered to open fire on anyone crossing—or even approaching—the poorly marked boundary. One soldier, in his twenties, recounted scenes of celebration among troops after they destroyed a vehicle near the Israeli-controlled perimeter, killing all occupants. “It was a jungle,” he said. “After the ceasefire, the order was: if someone crosses the line, you shoot them.”

The soldiers described a climate of confusion and inconsistent rules of engagement, with some commanders publicly endorsing the truce while privately expressing a preference for the war to continue. One reservist said troops were often too distant or acted too quickly to distinguish between combatants and civilians, echoing concerns raised by Breaking the Silence, a veterans’ whistleblower group. The accounts coincide with AP documentation of shootings of Palestinian civilians, including children, near the yellow line. “To call it a ceasefire is a joke,” one soldier told AP, emphasising that killings appeared to persist even after the agreement took effect seven months ago.

The ceasefire, backed by the United States, stipulated an Israeli troop withdrawal to a buffer zone marked by the yellow line, which now encompasses just over half of Gaza. Full withdrawal has been delayed indefinitely, with disarmament of Hamas emerging as the central obstacle to further progress. Under the current arrangement, Israeli forces have expanded control over additional territory, while both sides have accused each other of violating the truce. The lack of clear demarcation has compounded the risks, with the yellow line sometimes invisible or inconsistently marked—visible only as yellow blocks, barrels, or, in some areas, a wide dirt path devoid of signage.

Israel’s military permitted AP journalists to view a section of the yellow line near the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza this week, where a wide dirt path and small yellow markers were visible. Yet soldiers’ testimonies suggest that, in practice, the ceasefire has done little to curb violence along much of the frontier, leaving civilians caught between shifting frontlines and ambiguous rules. The revelations underscore both the fragility of the agreement and the deep uncertainty facing residents and troops as diplomatic deadlock persists.