Israel’s Netanyahu directs army to seize 70 percent of Gaza Strip

The Israeli Army has already expanded its control of Gaza by 11 percent over the ‘Yellow Line’, beyond the terms of the ‘ceasefire’.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the Israeli Army to expand its control of the Gaza Strip to 70 percent, according to remarks aired by Israeli media.“At this point, we are fully in control of 60 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip … and my directive is to get to … 70 percent,” Netanyahu said in footage recorded by Channel 12 and aired on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Eid celebrations in Gaza overshadowed by Israeli attackslist 2 of 3US returns Palestinian rights expert Francesca Albanese to sanctions listlist 3 of 3Palestinian graduates in the West Bank enter a collapsed job marketend of listWhen someone in the audience shouted that Israel should take the entire besieged enclave, the prime minister said “we are going in order”, according to Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="23342" data-entity-type="organization">The Times of Israel. “First 70 percent,” he said without disputing that a complete takeover could take place. “We’ll start with that.”The Israeli Army had in mid-March quietly sent maps to aid organisations showing it had already expanded its control to about 11 percent beyond the so-called “Yellow Line” demarcating areas of the enclave occupied by Israeli troops. That line was agreed in a United States-brokered “ceasefire” in October 2025. That meant it controlled 64 percent of the Palestinian territory, instead of 53 percent.Due to the Israeli Army occupation, Palestinians cannot access about two-thirds of Gaza. A further seizure of the territory would force two million of them, already living in disastrous conditions, into an even smaller territory after enduring two years of genocidal war.Despite the nominal truce reached last year, Israeli bombing in Gaza continues with near-daily attacks. An Al Jazeera tally from October to April counted at least 2,400 Israeli violations. Earlier on Thursday, health authorities said an Israeli air raid killed at least 10 people, including four children, and wounded 20 others.