Israel has expanded its control over Gaza territory and is considering intensified military action, increasing pressure on the war-torn Strip. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said this week that the army has advanced beyond the agreed-upon temporary borders and now controls 60% of the Gaza Strip.
This figure was confirmed by another Israeli official and a foreign diplomat involved in monitoring the ceasefire. The original borders gave Israel control of 53%.“We are moving forward, moving the yellow line and deepening the destruction of the infrastructure,” Smotrich said. It has been seven months since US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in Gaza. The truce was scheduled to begin the process of rehabilitating the area after two years of Israeli raids that killed tens of thousands of people and turned large parts of it into rubble.
But as the wars in Iran and Lebanon shifted focus away from Gaza, it sank deeper into misery.
Hamas has not disarmed, Israel is intensifying its air strikes, and hundreds have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.Smotrich said Hamas’ ability to rearm is very limited, but the group must be defeated. “We have to decide when and in what form we will return to fighting in Gaza,” he said. A senior Netanyahu aide said Israel was considering launching more air strikes to prevent Hamas from rebuilding. This would likely necessitate region-wide attacks. This is a Bloomberg story.
