Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that he has ordered Israeli military forces to expand their territorial control in Gaza, targeting 70% of the Palestinian enclave where residents are already confined to a narrow coastal area.
Current Israeli military control encompasses approximately 64% of the small coastal territory, which has been devastated by a two-year military campaign that began following Hamas’ 2023 attack on southern Israel.
An October ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States, which has not succeeded in stopping Israeli operations or achieving Hamas’ disarmament, originally established Israeli forces should pull back to a “Yellow Line” marking their territorial boundaries. Military maps showed this line gave Israel authority over roughly 53% of Gaza, leaving Hamas in charge of the remaining areas.
Reuters previously documented that Israel has independently repositioned concrete barriers marking the Yellow Line further into territory previously controlled by Hamas. Military maps from March revealed an expanded restricted zone that experts estimate encompasses about 64% of Gaza’s total area.
In previous public statements, Netanyahu has acknowledged military control over more than 60% of Gaza. During remarks at a conference in a West Bank settlement, the Israeli leader outlined plans for further territorial expansion.
“We were at fifty, we moved to sixty. My directive is to move to — let’s go step by step,” Netanyahu stated Thursday.
“First of all, seventy. Let’s start with that. We’re pressing them (Hamas) from all sides. We’ll deal with the remnants.”
Netanyahu characterizes the territories Israel has captured in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon as “buffer zones” designed to prevent future militant attacks following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault that triggered the Gaza conflict.
Palestinians interpret Israel’s expanding Gaza buffer zone as part of a plan for permanent displacement, citing statements from high-ranking ministers, including defense chief Israel Katz, who have expressed support for encouraging “voluntary migration” from Gaza.
The territorial expansion order coincides with intensified Israeli operations in Gaza that officials say are aimed at senior Hamas commanders involved in the 2023 attacks. Tuesday’s strike eliminated Hamas’ armed wing chief, following the killing of his predecessor ten days earlier.
Gaza health authorities report that a Wednesday night strike Israel claimed targeted two Hamas leaders resulted in at least 10 deaths, including five children, with 18 additional injuries.
The attack occurred during Palestinians’ observance of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, which many Gaza residents celebrated by gathering in tent camps and damaged buildings.
Etidal Al-Za’im described being with her family in their tent during the holiday celebration when debris from the strike on an adjacent building crashed down on them.
“We came out to the sound of a bang, we sat for an hour before we could come out through the (rubble) and find a way out of the tent,” she said.
Health officials report Israeli operations have resulted in more than 900 deaths since the truce began, while Israel reports four soldiers killed by militants during the same timeframe. Israel and Hamas continue to face an impasse in negotiations over a U.S. proposal for Gaza that would require Israeli troop withdrawal and Hamas disarmament.
Another witness to Wednesday’s Israeli strike, identifying himself as Abu Azam, said a “person in Gaza has no safety at all.”
“He could be hit in the street, he could be hit in the house, he could be hit in the hospital, he could be hit on his way to the market,” Abu Azam said.
