Israel Defense Forces troops operating in southern Gaza eliminated a terrorist who crossed the ceasefire line and approached soldiers in a manner that posed an immediate threat, the IDF said on Thursday.
Troops of the 7th “Storm from the Golan” Armored Brigade spotted the terrorist after he moved toward the ceasefire-instituted Yellow Line in the southern Strip and moved toward Israeli positions, the IDF stated.
Soldiers eliminated the terrorist “to remove the threat” shortly after he crossed the Yellow Line, according to the statement on Thursday night.
In separate incidents on Wednesday in the southern and northern parts of Gaza, Israeli troops killed several other terrorists who also crossed the same ceasefire line and approached deployed forces in a way the military statement described as an “immediate threat.”
The Yellow Line is a demarcation line established by the IDF as part of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which went into effect in October. Concrete barriers topped with a yellow-painted post mark the area to which the military has withdrawn.
Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, announced Phase 2 of President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan on Wednesday.
The next phase is intended to shift “from ceasefire to demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction” of the Hamas-run Strip.
Phase 2 will be led by a “technocratic Palestinian administration in Gaza, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, and begins the full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza, primarily the disarmament of all unauthorized personnel,” Witkoff wrote on X.
“The United States expects Hamas to comply fully with its obligations, including the immediate return of the final deceased hostage,” the envoy added. “Failure to do so will bring serious consequences.”
Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release agreement that went into effect three months ago, the terrorist group committed to returning for burial all 28 bodies it was holding captive on Oct. 13.
However, Hamas has failed to return the body of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, reportedly to delay its disarmament, set to take place in the second phase of the deal with a deployment of a stabilization force.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal last month repeated calls for the Jewish state’s destruction, rejecting U.S.- and U.N.-backed demands to disarm the Iranian-supported terrorist group and demilitarize the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist in a speech likewise dismissed “all forms of guardianship, mandate and re-occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and all of Palestine,” rejecting another core part of Trump’s plan, which received the unanimous support of the U.N. Security Council in November.
