The United Nations on Friday issued a sharp rebuke to Israel following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s directives to expand military control over the Gaza Strip and reiterating that the entire territory belongs strictly to the Palestinian people.
"One hundred percent of Gaza should be for the Palestinian people," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York. "That is what we want to see. We have been calling on Israel to pull back its occupation from the so-called 'yellow line,' and that will continue to be our position."
The UN’s statement came a day after Netanyahu announced that Israel currently controls 60% of the Gaza Strip and signaled military plans to expand that footprint to 70%, though he did not outline how the expansion would be executed.
The Israeli military previously stated in October last year that it held 53% of Gaza after redeploying to the "yellow line" a temporary separation zone in eastern Gaza dividing Israeli military positions from populated Palestinian areas. This buffer zone was established under the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s regional peace framework.
While the framework envisioned progressive Israeli military withdrawals during its second phase launched in January, Palestinian officials state that the boundary has been systematically pushed westward.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim told Anadolu that Israeli forces recently seized an additional 8% to 9% of Gaza's land, driving the total area under Israeli military occupation past the 60% mark.
