Netanyahu Orders IDF to Push Control of Gaza to 70 Percent, Raising New Ceasefire Fears
Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel now controls 60 percent of Gaza and has directed the IDF to expand that to 70 percent, a move that appears to clash with the October 2025 ceasefire framework.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly ordered the Israel Defense Forces to expand control over the Gaza Strip to 70 percent, escalating pressure on an already fragile ceasefire framework. Speaking at a conference on Thursday, Netanyahu said Israel currently holds 60 percent of the territory and wants to increase that footprint further.
According to the remarks reported by The Times of Israel, Netanyahu told the audience, "At this point, we are fully in control of 60% of the territory of the Gaza Strip... and my directive is to get to... 70%." When asked from the crowd whether Israel should take "100 percent" of Gaza, he replied, "First 70%. We'll start with that."
A direct challenge to the truce framework
The reported directive appears to go beyond the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which had set limits on Israel's temporary control in Gaza. That makes the move more than a military adjustment. It is also a political signal that the current ceasefire arrangement may be under growing strain.
Netanyahu's remarks come as Israel continues to assert security control over large parts of the enclave. The same report notes that he had acknowledged last week that Israel already controlled about 60 percent of Gaza, well above the roughly 53 percent allotted under the ceasefire deal.
Why the 70 percent target matters
In practical terms, raising control from 60 percent to 70 percent would deepen Israel's military presence and likely reshape how the territory is administered on the ground. It would also intensify questions about what remains of the ceasefire's original commitments and whether the agreement can still hold in its current form.
The timing is especially significant because the ceasefire framework was intended to pause hostilities, enable hostage and prisoner exchanges, and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. Any move seen as widening Israeli control risks undermining that structure further.
Reactions and wider conflict dynamics
The Times of Israel report also says an audience member called for taking "100 percent" of Gaza, highlighting how far some rhetoric has shifted inside Israel's political discourse. Netanyahu's response, while stopping short of endorsing full occupation in that moment, still pointed to an incremental expansion of control.
At the same time, fighting and airstrikes have continued to shape events on the ground. The IDF said a strike in Khan Younis killed Ihab Khrizim, whom it described as a senior Hamas financial operative, along with Mohammed al-Habash, a Hamas weapons-production commander. That underlines how military operations have continued even amid ceasefire talks and truce arrangements.
What happens next
The immediate question is whether Netanyahu's directive becomes a formal operational shift or remains a political statement with limited tactical follow-through. Either way, the message is clear: Israel's leadership is signaling a more expansive military posture in Gaza at a moment when the ceasefire is already under severe pressure.
For now, the 70 percent target suggests that the battlefield in Gaza is not just being contested with weapons, but with competing visions for what the territory will look like if and when the current truce collapses or is rewritten.