December 8, 2025 | 07:47 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Israeli Army Chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, has unilaterally declared an imaginary demarcation line within the Gaza Strip to be a "new border," according to a military statement reported by Arab News on Sunday.
Addressing reserve soldiers in Gaza, Zamir was quoted as saying, "We have operational control over extensive parts of the Gaza Strip and we will remain on those defense lines. The Yellow Line is a new border line — serving as a forward defensive line for our communities and a line of operational activity."
This declaration follows the current US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, under which Israeli forces were instructed to retreat to positions behind this "Yellow Line."
Saudi Arabia Rejects Redefining Gaza Ceasefire Terms
Separately, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong call for an immediate halt to efforts aimed at 'redefining' the Gaza ceasefire and avoiding any renegotiation of the agreed terms, which are endorsed by the UN Security Council.
"We cannot be open to redefinition and renegotiation of what we have already agreed to and also what was issued as a Security Council resolution that was passed and welcomed by all parties," said Manal Radwan, the Minister Plenipotentiary from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while speaking at the Doha Forum 2025, as reported by Anadolu.
Radwan was explicit about the terms that must not be altered: "So we cannot go back and redefine what we mean by ceasefire, what we mean even by disarmament, what we mean by a Palestinian-led process in governing Gaza."
A Warning Against Tactical Drift
Radwan stressed that attempting to change the core principles of the existing ceasefire risks setting the region on a "sidetrack." Such efforts, she warned, divert attention to minor tactical details and cause the international community to neglect the fundamental essence of the conflict.
"We cannot be redefining these things back and forth and getting ourselves into a sidetrack that gets us into so many details about what, who, when, and we lose sight of the overall and the core of the conflict," she said.
The Saudi official underscored the fact that the vast majority of the international community agrees that a two-state solution is the only way forward. "If that is so, then it is asking people what it is that they are going to do to bring this implementation and make it possible," she challenged.
Radwan cautioned against treating Gaza as an isolated crisis, emphasizing that the territory is an intrinsic part of the broader Palestinian issue. She added that no ceasefire or humanitarian assistance mechanism can succeed if the larger political objectives are not upheld.
She also emphasized that without the fulfillment of Palestinian rights, there will be no enduring security for anyone, including Israel, its surrounding areas, or the world as a whole. Radwan concluded that the way forward depends on maintaining the agreed framework, preventing arbitrary redefinitions, and ensuring the implementation remains explicitly linked to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"If we do not ensure the security and the political aspiration of Palestinians being fulfilled, then there is no plan in the world that will be able to drive us not only from one stage to the next, but also to prevent another spiral of violence," she affirmed.
The Gaza ceasefire came into effect on October 10, halting Israel's two-year genocide that had resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 Palestinian civilians, predominantly women and children, and injured nearly 171,000 others since October 2023.
The initial phase of the agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian detainees. The comprehensive plan also incorporates provisions for the reconstruction of Gaza and the formation of a new governance mechanism that excludes Hamas.
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