Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to secure 70% of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, Reuters reported on the 28th (local time). Speaking at a meeting held in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, he said, "(The proportion of Israeli-occupied territory) was 50 and moved to 60. My instruction is to move to the next stage. Let's start with 70. We are pressuring them (Hamas) on all fronts."
Israel already exercises effective control over approximately 64% of the Gaza Strip. The order calls for expanding the occupied territory even further. The move runs counter to the ceasefire agreement reached last October through U.S. mediation. Under that agreement, Israeli forces were required to withdraw to the "Yellow Line" marked on military maps. Along this line, Israel would control about 53% of Gaza, with the remainder under Hamas. However, the ceasefire deal has neither halted Israeli attacks nor led to the disarmament of Hamas.
On the 27th, when Israel launched massive airstrikes, Palestinians were observing the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. Many residents in Gaza were spending the holiday in tent camps or in buildings destroyed by bombing. Gaza health authorities said at least 10 people, including five children, were killed and 18 injured in the strikes that day.
In Gaza, more than 900 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the ceasefire, while Israel said four of its soldiers were killed in action by armed forces during the same period. The U.S. plan for Gaza centers on Israeli military withdrawal and Hamas disarmament. Negotiations to advance the plan remain at a standstill.
Israel has also resumed airstrikes on Lebanon. The Israeli military said on the 28th it had carried out airstrikes on the southern outskirts of Beirut. According to Lebanese media, the strike targeted Choueifat, near Beirut International Airport. Footage filmed in the area showed white smoke rising from an apartment building.
It was the first Israeli airstrike on Beirut in about three weeks since the 6th. The Israeli military has continued armed clashes with Hezbollah even after the ceasefire took effect in mid-last month, but had refrained from striking Beirut amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who is pursuing end-of-war negotiations with Iran. Against this backdrop, Netanyahu instructed the Israeli military on the 25th to "press the (accelerator) pedal harder," ordering an intensified offensive against Hezbollah. Since then, the Israeli military has launched massive airstrikes across southern Lebanon, while Israeli ground forces deployed there are expanding operations beyond the "Yellow Line," a buffer zone designated along the border.
The Israeli military also warned residents across southern Lebanon the previous day to evacuate north of the Zahrani River, then heavily bombed Tyre, Lebanon's fourth-largest city. At least 14 people were killed in the strikes. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the dead included five women and children and one Lebanese soldier.
