Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israeli army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, a move that threatens to undermine the fragile ceasefire and worsen humanitarian conditions. Speaking at a conference in a West Bank settlement, the Israeli prime minister said: 'We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory. My directive is to move to 70%.'
Under the US-brokered ceasefire in October, Israel withdrew to a demarcation line giving it direct control of 53% of Gaza. Since then, Israeli forces have advanced westward into Hamas-controlled areas and expanded a no man's land where they claim the right to open fire on perceived threats. Israeli-backed militias have been emptying territory along the ceasefire line, telling residents to vacate.
Throughout the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued to kill Palestinians near the 'yellow line' and carry out airstrikes deeper into western Gaza, with over 900 Palestinian deaths since the truce began. Defence Minister Israel Katz stated the government's ultimate aim is for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza via 'voluntary migration', which human rights activists describe as ethnic cleansing.
The expansion violates the October ceasefire, the UN Security Council resolution endorsing it, and Donald Trump's peace plan, which stated no one would be forced to leave Gaza. Muhammad Shehada of the European Council on Foreign Relations said: 'Netanyahu is now declaring the whole Trump deal null and void.'
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed remaining buildings in their zone, and expanding control to 70% would cram 2.2 million Palestinians into less than a third of the territory. Shehada warned: 'It would be a death sentence for a lot of people who physically have no place to go.'
A UN briefing on Sunday reported daily tank advancements and drone targeting near the yellow line in Jabalia, and Israeli tanks advancing east of Khan Younis. An Israeli army spokesperson referred comment to the political echelon.
