Jerusalem.- The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated this Sunday that Israel will “soon” control 70% of the territory of the Gaza Strip, a few days before the eight-month mark of a ceasefire brokered by the United States that stipulated its control of only up to 53% of the Palestinian enclave.
“We currently control more than 60% of the Strip’s territory and will soon reach 70%,” Netanyahu said at the beginning of his cabinet meeting, according to a video released by his office, in which he also referred to his attacks on Lebanon despite the truce announced this week.
Regarding the Gaza Strip, where the truce agreement signed on October 11, 2025, stipulated that Israel would withdraw to the so-called yellow line, thus retaining control of 53% of the territory, Netanyahu indicated that he is “suppressing Hamas on all fronts.”
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“We do not allow them to arm themselves or attack us, and we are also eliminating their high command,” he added.
The prime minister already stated days ago that he had ordered the Army to take control of 70% of the Strip, in violation of the agreed ceasefire, thus leaving two million Gazans barely surviving, crowded into a narrow space between Israeli troops and the sea.
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In recent months, the Army has already been expanding its territorial control in Gaza by shifting the so-called yellow line and creating the orange line, which extends the area under military coordination by an additional 11%.
Lebanon
Netanyahu also referred this Sunday to Lebanon, which Israeli troops continue to attack while Hezbollah’s attacks on northern Israel also continue, all this despite the ceasefire announced this week between the Israeli and Lebanese governments -which the Shiite armed group did not sign-.
“We are completing the elimination of the terrorist villages near the border. We are attacking them forcefully and we know that Hezbollah is in retreat,” he said regarding the towns in southern Lebanon, where Israeli troops are maintaining a ground invasion, claiming they want to finish off the Shiite group.
The prime minister also mentioned the attack that took place this Sunday in central Israel, where a man residing in an Arab city in the area opened fire on civilians, killing one man and wounding five others, before being shot dead.
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“This morning, an atrocious terrorist went out, arrived in Kochav Yair and, unfortunately, managed, before being neutralized, to murder an Israeli citizen and wound others,” he said after commending the emergency services and the police for their response.
