Netanyahu directed Israeli Military to Grips 70% of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel currently controls 60% of the Gaza Strip and has directed military planners to expand that territorial grip to 70%.

According to a report by Israel’s Channel 12, Netanyahu made the disclosure during a strategic seminar held in the Jordan Valley on Thursday. "We currently control 60% of the Gaza Strip, and my directives are to move toward controlling 70%," Netanyahu reportedly told attendees. The prime minister did not elaborate on the specific operational plans or timelines for implementing the expansion.

The expansion of Israeli military control directly contradicts ongoing ceasefire frameworks that envisioned progressive troop withdrawals from the enclave.

The Israeli military previously announced in October last year that it held 53% of the Gaza Strip after redeploying to the so-called "yellow line." This line established a temporary buffer zone in eastern Gaza, separating areas under direct Israeli military governance from territory where Palestinian residents were permitted to remain.

While subsequent diplomatic phases launched in January were meant to facilitate a gradual Israeli rollback, Palestinian officials state that the military boundary has instead been systematically pushed deeper into the enclave.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, confirmed to the Anadolu news agency that Israel has unilaterally shifted the buffer boundary westward by an additional 8% to 9% into Gazan territory, corroborating the 60% figure.

This creeping territorial expansion has compressed Gaza's population into roughly 38% of the enclave. Local and international humanitarian organizations warn that this severe reduction of habitable space is drastically worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, compounding issues of extreme overcrowding, lack of resources, and forced displacement.

The ongoing military offensive, which began in October 2023, has resulted in unprecedented casualties. According to Palestinian health authorities, the war has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and injured over 172,000 others, with women and children making up the vast majority of the casualties.