Netanyahu Admits Israel Controls 60% Of Gaza Despite Ongoing Ceasefire

Last Updated:May 18, 2026, 18:42 IST

Netanyahu says Israel now controls about 60 percent of Gaza, expanding beyond a US brokered ceasefire line, as Israel reports killing Hamas commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that they have been pushing past the lines that were agreed in the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect October last year.

According to a report by The Times of Israel, at the start of the truce, the Israel Defense Forces controlled around 53 percent of the war-torn Palestinian enclave, with Hamas controlling the other 47%, in which nearly all of the Strip’s two million residents live.

A “Yellow Line" was established demarcating the part of Gaza occupied by Israeli troops. However, Netanyahu on Sunday told the weekly cabinet meeting, “In Gaza now, we already control not 50%, but 60%".

The Times of Israel cited maps issued quietly by Israel in March showed a new restricted area beyond the 53%. The area, marked on the maps with an orange line, makes up an estimated 11% of Gaza’s territory beyond the Yellow Line. The areas cordon off nearly two-thirds of Gaza’s territory in total.

“The boundaries of these areas (the Orange Line), in which coordination is required, are determined and updated in accordance with the operational situational assessment, with the aim of enabling humanitarian activity while safeguarding personnel in a complex operational environment," COGAT said.

This comes days after reports emerged of the death of Hamas’s military chief in Gaza Izz al-Din al-Haddad in an Israeli strike.

The IDF described Izz al-Din al-Haddad as “one of the architects of the brutal October 7 massacre" and said he had recently worked to rebuild Hamas’s military capabilities and plan attacks against Israeli civilians and Israeli troops.

The reported killing came as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked over efforts to advance US President Donald Trump’s post-war Gaza proposal aimed at ending more than two years of conflict.

News world Netanyahu Admits Israel Controls 60% Of Gaza Despite Ongoing Ceasefire

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