Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that he has directed the country’s military to expand its control to cover 70% of the Gaza Strip.
“We were at 50; we moved to 60. My directive is to move to — let’s go step by step,” Netanyahu said. “First of all, 70. Let’s start with that. We’re pressing [Hamas] from all sides. We’ll deal with the remnants.”
Since the Israeli assault on Gaza following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, Israeli forces have retained control of more than half of the enclave. The continued Israeli presence has squeezed 2 million mostly displaced Palestinians into a small area, many living in tents among the ruins of shattered cities.
Under an October U.S.-brokered truce that has failed to halt Israeli attacks or secure Hamas’ disarmament, Israeli troops were meant to initially withdraw to a “Yellow Line” demarcating the extent of their control, which was to have been followed by an expected longer-term withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 75,000 people, including thousands of women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.