Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he had ordered the Israeli army to ignore the terms of the ceasefire that came into effect in October and take control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, according to a video broadcast by a television Israeli.
“At the moment, we have the (Palestinian Islamist movement) Hamas by the throat. We now control 60% of the territory of the strip” of Gaza, declared Benjamin Netanyahu 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 proclaims the audience.
“In order. First 70. Let’s start with that”, continues Benjamin Netanyahu, “we have them on all sides… We will take care of the rest” later.
A yellow line
These statements come as Gaza remains the scene of daily violence, with Israeli strikes continuing there while Israel and Hamas accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
The truce came into force under pressure from the United States on October 10, two years after the war triggered on October 7, 2023 by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel.
The first phase of the ceasefire saw the release of the last Gaza hostages kidnapped by Hamas, in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel. But the transition to the second phase, which should result in the disarmament of Hamas and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, has appeared completely stalled for weeks.
Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israeli forces were to retreat behind a “yellow line”, the name given to the demarcation line between the area under Hamas control and that held by the Israeli army which gave the latter control of a little more than 50% of the small territory.
“We didn’t leave.”
But Benjamin Netanyahu announced on May 15 that the army had expanded its hold on the Gaza Strip. “Some told us to leave, we did not leave and today we control 60% of the territory. Tomorrow, we will see,” he said.
More than two million Palestinians from Gaza are now crowding into the Gaza area still under Hamas control, where the humanitarian situation remains “catastrophic” according to the cry of alarm launched on May 22 at the UN by three leading international aid NGOs, accusing Israel of not respecting its obligations.
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