International
-Ashish Rana
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the military to extend control to 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports. The instruction goes beyond the levels of control described earlier and appears at odds with the US-brokered ceasefire terms agreed between Israel and Hamas in October last year.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu directed the military to expand control to 70% of Gaza, up from 60%, contradicting US-brokered ceasefire terms aimed at Hamas disarmament and Israeli withdrawal.
Netanyahu said last week that Israeli forces already control 60 per cent of Gaza’s territory. The new directive increases that target by another 10 percentage points. Details of the order and its context were reported by Israel’s Channel 12 network and the Times of Israel.
Netanyahu Gaza Strip directive challenges ceasefire terms
The ceasefire deal arranged by the United States was structured in phases. During the first stage, hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. The second planned stage has stalled for months and was meant to include Hamas’ disarmament and a pullback of the Israeli army from Gaza.
Netanyahu Gaza Strip control figures and conference remarks
Under the agreement, the Israeli military was expected to withdraw behind a designated “yellow line”. Despite that framework, Netanyahu described expanding territorial control in a video message in Hebrew at a conference hosted by the Ein Prat Leadership Academy, located in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu said, “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60 per cent of the territory in the strip. You know, we were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to…70 per cent,” Channel 12 reported.
An attendee at the same event called for Israel to seize total control of Gaza, shouting that Israel should take “100 per cent” of the territory. According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu replied, “we’re going in order. First 70 percent, we’ll start with that,” indicating a step-by-step approach to any further expansion.
The progression in control figures described by Netanyahu can be summarised as follows:
| Stage | Reported control of Gaza Strip |
|---|---|
| Earlier stage | 50 per cent |
| Current situation, according to Netanyahu | 60 per cent |
| New directive | 70 per cent |
Netanyahu’s latest comments underline a widening gap between Israel’s military actions and the original ceasefire outline. While the first phase of the deal was implemented, the unresolved second phase, including Hamas’ disarmament and Israeli withdrawal behind the “yellow line”, remains blocked as Israel moves to deepen its control in Gaza.
