Israeli forces already control more Palestinian territory than is allowed under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered troops to take 70 percent of Gaza, in defiance of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement between West Jerusalem and Hamas, which allows Israel to control no more than 53 percent of the territory.
The 2025 agreement, backed by a UN Security Council resolution, called for Israel’s gradual withdrawal from Gaza in exchange for Hamas disarming and relinquishing control of the area. Instead, sporadic fighting has continued, with Israeli troops pushing deeper into the area.
“Now we control 60% of the territory in the Belt. You know, we were 50 years old, we moved to 60,” Netanyahu told the Jordan Valley Conference in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.
“My order is to move… first of all 70%. Let’s start with that,” he said and added that the area will be taken step by step. He did not say whether Israel ultimately intends to occupy all of Gaza.
Earlier this week, Hamas accused Israel of seeking to impose military control over Gaza by force, warning that the move undermines any realistic prospect of a deceleration. The group has refused to disarm or surrender its weapons, according to Bulgarian diplomat Nikolay Mladenov, who oversees the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.
In March, representatives of the Gaza movement met with the US-led Peace Council, an international body established by US President Donald Trump in January as part of a plan to rebuild Gaza after the war. The plan has since been stalled during the US-Israeli-Iran wars.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Israel responded with massive air and ground attacks that have killed more than 72,000 people in Gaza, according to local health authorities. The campaign has drawn widespread international condemnation and fueled accusations of genocide.
You can share this story on social networks:
Follow RT on
