Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he directed the country’s military to take control over 70% of Gaza, much more than the 53% it controlled under the October 2025 ceasefire agreement.To bring an end to the devastating Israel-Hamas war, which left most of Gaza in ruins, the Israeli military agreed to withdraw to positions behind the so-called “yellow line.” Though the agreement called for Israel to gradually cede territory back to the Palestinians as part of a multi-phase peace effort, contingent on Hamas also holding its end of the bargain, the military has instead gradually increased its controlled territory. The Israeli military gave maps to aid groups late last month showing it was in control of about 64% of Gaza, CNN reported.On Thursday, speaking at a conference in the West Bank, Netanyahu went even further, suggesting that Israel was progressing to have total control over the enclave.
“We are now in 60% of the Gaza Strip, more or less. We were at 50%; now we’ve moved to 60%. My directive is to move to…” Netanyahu began, but was interrupted by the hard-liner audience shouting, “100! 100!”
“Wait, let’s go in order. First 70%. Let’s start with that,” the prime minister responded.
