JERUSALEM: The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave instructions to his army troops to take control of 70% of Gaza on Thursday in order to add to its expansion that had made the state control about 64% of the Palestinian territory after two years of bombings. This announcement regarding the Netanyahu Gaza expansion occurred when Israeli bombing attacks led to the deaths of at least 10 persons, which included five children on Wednesday evening, during the occasion of Eid al-Adha, a festival for Muslims.
“We were at fifty; we went to sixty. My message is to go to, and let’s take it one step at a time,” said Netanyahu during a conference at an Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian West Bank territory. “Number one, seventy. Start there. We’re squeezing them from all angles.”
Netanyahu’s Gaza Control Expansion
Gaza Control Expansion on the part of Netanyahu is done in an orderly manner whereby it has always managed to transcend the limits set according to the October truce brokered by the US. The accord required Israeli forces to stay behind the Yellow Line that delineates control over some 53% of the total land area in Gaza – a boundary line that has been moved deeper in by Israeli troops.
The maps released by the army last month indicated an even larger restricted zone that analysts believe surrounds nearly 64% of the Gaza Strip’s territory altogether. The latest directive for reaching 70% is consistent with that trend – each new statement merely formalizing gains made on the ground by the Israeli army.
Fears of Permanently Displaced Behind Expansion
The Gaza expansion by Netanyahu has an element to it which transcends military tactics for Palestinians living along the route of the expansion. The Israelis’ widening Gaza buffer zone is seen as part of a plan aimed at permanently displacing the Palestinians; a statement made by Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz stating that he wanted to encourage “voluntary migration” from Gaza.
According to Netanyahu, the areas captured by Israel in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon can be viewed as buffer zones that ensure Israel’s protection against future terrorist attacks, particularly after the attack that happened on October 7, 2023, by Hamas and its allies. However, Palestinians see these buffer zones as instruments that ensure the impossibility of return regardless of the terms used for a future ceasefire deal.
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Stabbed to Death Ten as Ceasefire Fizzles on Eid
The human toll from the expansion of Netanyahu’s Gaza control policy kept rising over Eid al-Adha. Gaza authorities report that there have been over 900 casualties due to Israeli airstrikes since the truce; Israel says four soldiers were murdered by Hamas.
The strike that occurred Wednesday evening and claimed the lives of at least 10 persons, five of them children, injured 18 others, and was reported by Israel to have been carried out against two senior Hamas officials took place as Palestinian families were celebrating the holiday. Witness Etidal Al-Za’im recounted the terror of being trapped under a collapsing structure as her family gathered in their tent.
Another eyewitness who identified himself as Abu Azam found it all too easy to explain the hard truth of living in Gaza, stating, “In Gaza, a person is totally unsafe. They can attack you on the street, they can attack you at home, they can attack you in the hospital, they can attack you when you go shopping.”
Deadlocks Continue amid Rising Number of Casualties among Hamas Leaders
While the Netanyahu Gaza expansion plan is underway, the Israelis continue to increase their efforts against key Hamas leaders responsible for the 2023 attack. On Tuesday, Israel eliminated the leader of its armed wing, only ten days after eliminating the previous leader. In spite of all this, the two sides are still deadlocked regarding a US proposal under which Israeli forces will leave Gaza and Hamas will disarm, and the Netanyahu Gaza expansion to 70% has made that task even more difficult.
