A new directive

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces to expand their control over the Gaza Strip to 70% of the Palestinian territory. Speaking at a conference in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu said the military already controls more than 60% of the enclave, up from roughly 50% at the start of the October 2025 ceasefire. "We were at fifty, we moved to sixty. My directive is to move to — let's go step by step," Netanyahu said. When an audience member shouted "100%," the prime minister replied: "First of all, seventy. Let's start with that. We're pressing them from all sides. We'll deal with the remnants."

Breach of the October truce

Under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, Israeli troops were meant to withdraw behind a demarcation known as the "Yellow Line," which placed roughly 53% of Gaza under Israeli military control. The agreement, part of Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan, envisioned Hamas disarmament and eventual Israeli withdrawal. Instead, Israel has unilaterally moved concrete blocks marking the Yellow Line deeper into Hamas-controlled territory. Maps issued by the Israeli military in March showed an even larger restricted area that analysts say cordons off around 64% of Gaza. Netanyahu's new directive to reach 70% represents an open rupture with the truce terms.

“We were at fifty, we moved to sixty. My directive is to move to — let's go step by step. First of all, seventy. Let's start with that.”

The Orange Line and creeping expansion

Beyond the Yellow Line, the Israeli military has established a second, parallel demarcation called the "Orange Line," according to maps obtained by the EFE news agency. This new boundary, first communicated to humanitarian workers in October 2025 and updated in March 2026, requires all international organizations to coordinate movements with Israeli authorities within its perimeter. The Israeli NGO Gisha calculates that the area between the Yellow and Orange Lines covers an additional 11% of Gaza, bringing total Israeli control to 64%. COGAT, the Israeli military body managing civil affairs in occupied territories, stated that "the limits of these zones are determined and updated according to the situation assessment" and confirmed the Orange Line is not physically marked on the ground.

Civilian impact and displacement fears

Palestinians view the widening buffer zone as part of a strategy to permanently displace them from Gaza. Senior Israeli ministers, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have publicly advocated for what they describe as "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the Strip. Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have also championed the idea, which critics say could amount to forced displacement of civilians — a war crime under international law. The Trump peace plan had explicitly stated that "no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return."

“We committed that Hamas will not govern Gaza, neither civilly nor militarily.”

Escalating violence despite the truce

At least 738 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the ceasefire took effect in October, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable. This week, Israel killed the head of Hamas's armed wing, ten days after killing his predecessor. An additional strike on Wednesday night that Israel said targeted two Hamas leaders killed at least 10 people, including five children, and wounded 18 others, according to Gaza health officials. Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by the United States, remain stalled.

“We're pressing them from all sides. We'll deal with the remnants.”

International implications

The expansion of Israeli military control directly violates the October ceasefire, the UN Security Council resolution that endorsed it, and the Trump peace plan. The plan's next steps — Hamas disarmament and full Israeli troop withdrawal — appear increasingly distant as Israel consolidates its hold over the devastated coastal enclave, where 2.1 million residents are already penned into a shrinking strip of land along the Mediterranean coast.