Israeli Forces Expand Control to Nearly 70 Percent of Gaza Under Ongoing Ceasefire

Israeli forces now control nearly 70 percent of Gaza, up from around half the territory at the start of the ceasefire in October, according to maps analyzed by Npr and statements from Israeli leaders. In mid-March, troops designated a new orange zone running north to south that added 10 percent more land under military oversight.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in May that the expansion formed part of a plan to surround Hamas from all sides.

He told an audience that control had reached 60 percent and responded to a call for full control by saying, "First, 70%. " Israel's military did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the shifting lines. The United Nations humanitarian office reported that around 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the ceasefire began in areas near the yellow and orange lines of control.

Gaza's health ministry said more than 1,000 people have died across the territory in the same period, with a third of those killed near the lines identified as women and children. Aid groups have suspended operations in northern Gaza's orange zone and in the al-Shujaiya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City since March, citing the need for prior notification and safety concerns after more than 400 aid workers were killed during the war.

Residents of al-Shujaiya said ambulances require Israeli permission to enter and that the closest drinking water source is now a half-hour walk away.

At the start of the ceasefire, 500 families lived in al-Shujaiya; fewer than 50 families remain. The neighborhood, once home to more than 100,000 people, now lacks clinics, bakeries, and shops. Local resident Abu Ahmed Humeid said families return to bombed-out homes at night because "no one dares go outside" after sunset.