Israel controls large parts of Gaza Strip, and PM Netanyahu said recently that he has ordered the army to take control of 70% of Palestinian territory, Reuters reported. Netanyahu presented this as part of a larger strategy: "We were at 50 (percent), we went to 60", he said, adding: "My instruction is to move forward – let's move step by step. (...) 70% to start with. Let's start with that. We will press them from all sides.“
Israel has already significantly expanded the area it controls in Gaza, the German news agency DPA and the newspaper "Israel Hayom” reported. The information comes from a Western diplomat who said that the Israeli army now controls about 64 percent of the enclave.
Will there be a new "security zone"
Israeli soldiers are now positioned along the "orange line", which replaced the agreed "yellow line" of the agreement secured by the US. Israel has placed another 11 percent of Palestinian territory - about 34 square kilometers - under its control.
The newspaper "Israel Hayom” reports that these actions were approved by the Peace Council, established to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement in Gaza. According to the media, the radical Islamist group Hamas has not observed the terms of the ceasefire because it is not taking steps to disarm within the agreed deadlines. The information cited by "Israel Hayom" has not been officially confirmed. "Reuters" however, also reports that Israel is already using a new map, on which the new "orange line" is marked.
Even the current 64% of Gaza territory that is under Israeli control is much more than was agreed in the ceasefire. The original "yellow line", behind which the Israeli military withdrew, gave them control over 53% of the enclave. The border, which has been moved further into the territory, is separated by concrete blocks, reports "Reuters”. The rest of the Gaza Strip continues to be ruled by Hamas.
Refugees in their own country
This forces Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to live in an ever-shrinking territory. Many of them already live in catastrophic conditions and have been displaced repeatedly during the war. According to the latest IPC report, the situation in Gaza has improved somewhat, but about 1.6 million people - that is, 77% of the population - continue to live in severe food insecurity. This number includes more than 100,000 children. The IPC system is an internationally recognized tool for calculating and classifying levels of hunger and food insecurity in the world.
The hygienic conditions in Gaza are also catastrophic. "Ruins, garbage, excrement - everything is piling up in the streets, children are bitten by rats, diseases are spreading", said a report by the United Nations Children's Fund in May this year. UNICEF reports that an increasing number of children need hospital care, but there is no longer a single hospital in the Gaza Strip that is functioning at full capacity.
"Buffer zone" against attacks
Netanyahu calls the territories seized by Israel in Gaza, as well as in Syria and Lebanon, "buffer zones" against possible attacks by armed groups against Israelis. But Palestinians see the expansion of the area controlled by Israel in Gaza as part of a larger strategy by Israel to completely drive them out of the territory. They cite statements by senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, who said the country wanted to encourage "voluntary migration" from Gaza.
The war in the Gaza Strip began after Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and according to Israeli figures, about 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken hostage. According to Palestinian estimates, about 70,000 Palestinians were killed and over 100,000 were injured during the war. In addition, buildings, roads and all other infrastructure in the small enclave, which is home to about 2 million people, were destroyed.
Author: Stephanie Hoepner