Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to increase control in Gaza to 70%. He made the statement during a conference.
Netanyahu said Israel currently controls around 60% of Gaza. He explained that the military first controlled 50% of the area before increasing it to 60%. During his speech, someone in the crowd shouted “100,” but Netanyahu replied, “Let’s go step by step. First of all, 70. Let’s start with that. We’re pressing them from all sides, we’ll deal with the remnants.”
His comments appear to go against the ceasefire agreement led by former US President Donald Trump in October 2025. Under that agreement, Israeli forces were expected to stay near a demarcation area known as the “yellow line.”
However, Netanyahu has repeatedly confirmed that Israeli forces now control more than the agreed amount of Gaza territory. Despite the ceasefire, Israeli air strikes in Gaza have continued. According to the Hamas run health ministry, at least 738 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began in October.
The United Nations considers the ministry’s figures reliable. Talks between Israel and Hamas have also stalled. The next stage of the peace proposal was expected to include Hamas disarming and Israeli troops withdrawing from Gaza.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz also made strong comments this week. In a post on X, he said Israel had promised to eliminate everyone involved in the Hamas led October 7 attack in 2023.
At the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the IDF has just struck at Mohammed Odeh in Gaza, the new leader of the military wing of the Hamas terrorist organization and one of the architects of the October 7 massacre.
Odeh served as…
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 26, 2026
He added that Hamas would not be allowed to rule Gaza either politically or militarily. Katz also mentioned a “plan for voluntary emigration from Gaza,” saying it would happen “at the proper time and in the proper manner.”
Far right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have previously supported what they call the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from Gaza. Critics say such actions could amount to forced displacement, which is considered a war crime under international law. Both ministers have also supported plans for Jewish resettlement in Gaza.
Several deadly strikes were reported this week. Local hospitals said at least 10 people, including five children, were killed in a strike on a building in Gaza City on Wednesday night.
The Israeli military later said it had targeted “two central Hamas terrorists” in northern Gaza but did not release their names. Reports suggested that Hamas battalion commander Imad Asleem was killed along with his teenage daughter Israa.
Another strike earlier this week reportedly killed Mohammed Odeh, the newly selected head of Hamas’s military wing. His wife and two sons were also killed. In Khan Younis, the Israeli military said another strike killed Ihab Khrizim, who allegedly managed a Hamas money transfer network, and Mohammed al-Habash, a Hamas commander linked to weapons production.
The current war began after the Hamas led attack on Israel in October 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed in that attack, and 251 people were taken hostage. Israel then launched a major military operation in Gaza. Large parts of the territory have since been destroyed, and many residents have been displaced.
According to the Hamas run health ministry, as of 12 May 2026, at least 72,742 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 172,565 others have been injured. The figures include at least 21,283 children. The United Nations has said the ministry’s casualty figures are generally considered reliable.
