War in the Middle East: Benjamin Netanyahu says he ordered the Israeli army to take 70% of the Gaza Strip

Israel puts pressure on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Thursday May 28 that he had ordered the army to ignore the terms of the ceasefire that came into force in October and take control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, according to a video broadcast by Israeli television.

“Right now, we have Hamas by the throat. We now control 60% of the band’s territory” of Gaza, declared the Israeli Prime Minister during a conference in an Israeli colony in the occupied West Bank, of which channel 12 broadcast an extract on its site.

“You know,” he continues, “we were at 50 (after the ceasefire came into force), we went to 60, my directive is to go to “ – “100” then shouts the audience. “In order. First 70. Let’s start with that”continues Benyamin Netanyahu, “We have them on all sides. We will take care of the rest” later.

These declarations come as Gaza remains the scene of daily violence, with Israeli strikes continuing without respite while Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

On the Lebanese front, Israeli strikes caused the death of at least 17 people in the south of the country and in Beirut. These latest strikes come as Lebanon and Israel are due to hold a military meeting in Washington on Friday, before a new negotiating session scheduled for June 2 and 3. And in the midst of negotiations between the United States and Iran, which wants to include the Lebanese front of the conflict in any agreement to end the war in the Middle East.

Israel has intensified its land and air offensive in Lebanon in recent days, warning on Wednesday that it considers the territory south of the Zahrani River, about forty kilometers from the border, to be a “combat zone”.

Hezbollah, which once again called on the Lebanese authorities to withdraw from negotiations with Israel, claimed responsibility for around twenty attacks on Thursday, notably drone attacks, against Israeli forces trying to advance in the South. It has also recently increased explosive drone attacks on northern Israel, where a soldier was killed on Thursday, the Israeli army announced. This brings to 24 the number of deaths in its ranks since the start of hostilities on March 2, when Hezbollah fired on Israel in retaliation for the Israeli-American attack on Iran.