During a public appearance on May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to launch an operation aimed at taking control of 70% of the territory in Gaza.
He said Israeli forces are "tightening" their grip on Hamas and already control more than half of the territory.
"My directive is to move to — take it step by step — first of all 70. Let's start with that," he said.
Netanyahu's remarks were widely viewed as a violation of the ongoing peace plan, which established a temporary "yellow line" dividing Gaza into two zones: one under Israeli control and the other under Hamas.
As noted by CNN, the IDF issued maps to international aid groups showing Israel already controlled about 64% of Gaza as of late April.
The expansion of Israeli control contradicts the terms of a ceasefire Israel and Hamas agreed to in October 2025, an agreement mediated by the United States and President Donald Trump.
Under the deal, Israel withdrew its forces to a demarcation line that left it in direct control of about 53% of the territory.
Although both sides agreed to a ceasefire, Israel has continued strikes in Gaza. Data from the Gaza Health Ministry cited by The Guardian shows at least 738 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect in October.
As noted by The Guardian, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on May 27 that the government's ultimate goal included encouraging large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza through what he described as a "voluntary migration" plan.
"We committed that Hamas will not rule Gaza civilly or militarily, and so it shall be, and also the voluntary emigration plan from Gaza will be implemented," he said in a social media post. "Everything at the right timing and in the right manner."
Muhammad Shehada, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The Guardian that an Israeli expansion to 70% of Gaza would leave the territory's 2.2 million residents confined to less than a third of its original area.
"The conditions there are already appalling. It is the single most overcrowded place on the face of the planet," Shehada said. "Every square meter has another displaced family, another makeshift tent, or some sort of improvised shelter on it. So it would be a death sentence for a lot of people who physically have no place to go."
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