A senior IDF Southern Command officer told Channel 14 that troops are barred from striking armed terrorists moving yellow marking barrels on the Gaza coast unless they intentionally cross the Yellow Line. The officer warned that the 'severe threat' that existed remains and that forces are under 'very significant risk,' as reported by journalist Hillel Bitton Rosen.
A senior IDF Southern Command officer revealed new details on the rules of engagement along the Gaza Strip's 'Yellow Line' in a statement to Channel 14 overnight Monday, warning that armed terrorists are moving the yellow marking barrels that define the buffer zone along the coast. The officer said troops are permitted to fire only if they identify an armed terrorist deliberately crossing the line, and described the situation as an ongoing 'severe threat' with forces under 'very significant risk,' according to journalist Hillel Bitton Rosen.
The officer's remarks build on a thread The Zioneer tracked throughout Monday afternoon. The first reports, published at 14:27, cited a security outlet relaying soldier testimonies about dangerous daily crossings. Over the next hours, The Zioneer published four more updates as the same senior officer spoke on the record: first confirming armed terrorists were moving the barrels, then warning that troops were forbidden from striking, and finally specifying that the forces are under 'very significant risk.' The latest update adds the operational rule — engagement is authorized only on intentional crossing, not for general movement or barrel displacement.
Similar restrictions have been documented across both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts. The Zioneer reported on Jun 23 that an IDF soldier in Gaza saw a man cross 600 meters into the Yellow Line area but troops lacked authorization to shoot. On Jun 21, soldiers on the Lebanon Yellow Line told N12 that any engagement with suspected militants required highest-level approval, which The Zioneer linked to the political echelon's ceasefire directive from Jun 20. A Jul 5 report by the same journalist described the IDF expanding the Yellow Line in Gaza while eliminating October 7 terrorists.
The officer's identity remains unnamed, and the specific frequency of terrorist movements or the number of operatives involved has not been disclosed. Whether the current rules of engagement reflect a standing policy tied to the Peace Council's disarmament roadmap — as earlier reports suggested — remains unconfirmed by official sources.
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