Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he had directed the country’s army to expand its control over the Gaza Strip to 70%, after saying the military already held about 60% of the territory.
He made the remarks while speaking at a conference in an occupied West Bank settlement.
Netanyahu said the military had previously held about half of Gaza under the ceasefire arrangements, and described the new directive as a further push to tighten pressure on Hamas.
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❗️🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 - Following evacuation warnings issued earlier tonight, Israel carried out airstrikes across multiple areas of Gaza as its military operations against Hamas continue to intensify.
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) May 28, 2026
In northern Gaza, strikes targeted Shati camp. In central Gaza, a building near Al-Aqsa… pic.twitter.com/seeItLBapX
Pressure mounts in the Gaza gambit
“We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip,” Netanyahu said, according to a video aired by Israel’s Channel 12 network and quoted by AFP.
He added: “My directive is to move to … 70%. … We’re squeezing them from all (sides). We’ll deal with what’s left afterwards.”
The Guardian also quoted him as saying: “We are currently squeezing Hamas. We now control 60% of the territory in the strip. You know, we were at 50, we moved to 60. My directive is to move to … 70%.”
The reports place the comments against the backdrop of a ceasefire that began in October and was supposed to halt major fighting while the sides moved toward a second phase of negotiations.
Netanyahu directs Israeli military to expand control over Gaza, says IDF to take 70% territory
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) May 28, 2026
Read @ANI Story l https://t.co/agYYaxzI1g #Israel #Gaza #BenjaminNetanyahu pic.twitter.com/GbzQsQTr0h
Where the truce rather loses its footing
The ceasefire’s first phase saw the release of the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli detention.
The second phase was expected to focus on Hamas disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops, but progress has stalled for months.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces were meant to pull back behind a “yellow line” dividing areas controlled by Hamas from those held by the Israeli military. Israeli forces have instead continued advancing westward into the Hamas-controlled half of the strip, while also declaring a wider no-man’s-land.
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And now the map grows narrower still
The reports also said the truce has remained unstable, with both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violations since it took effect on October 10.
More than 900 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire began, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
The Guardian said the expansion to 70% would mean 2.2 million Palestinians would be squeezed into less than a third of Gaza’s original territory. Netanyahu has also signalled a broader military push in recent weeks, with the Guardian and Courthouse News noting that he said on May 15 that Israel had already expanded its hold to 60%.
