Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that he has directed Israeli forces to occupy 70% of the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview at a news conference in the occupied West Bank that Israel was “strengthening” its grip on Hamas. “We are now in 60% of the territory of the Gaza Strip. It was 50% and we have moved to 60%,” he said. “My instructions are to move to 70 first. Do it in stages. Let’s start there,” Netanyahu said, as the audience called on him to take over all of Gaza.
In late April, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a map to international aid groups showing that the military already controls about 64% of the Gaza Strip.
If more areas of Gaza are captured, about 2 million Palestinians will be squeezed into a shrinking part of the coastal enclave’s shattered territory.
Under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces have withdrawn to a demarcation line known as the “Yellow Line,” which encircles about 53% of the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Hamas accused Israel of moving the line, saying it was a “clear and ongoing violation of the ceasefire agreement, a serious violation of its terms, and a blatant attempt to impose new facts on the ground by force, with the aim of consolidating military control over the Strip and undermining any real possibility of stabilizing the situation or successful de-escalation efforts.”
This is a developing story.
