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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said helium ordered the subject to grow its power implicit the Gaza Strip to 70 per cent of the territory, signalling a further escalation contempt the fragile ceasefire that came into effect successful October 2025.Speaking astatine a league successful an Israeli colony successful the occupied West Bank connected Thursday, Netanyahu said Israeli forces presently controlled astir 60 per cent of Gaza. “We are presently squeezing Hamas,” helium said successful remarks broadcast by Israel’s Channel 12. “My directive is to determination to 70 per cent. We’re squeezing them from each sides.”Under the presumption of the ceasefire agreement, Israeli troops were expected to gradually retreat down a demarcation enactment separating areas nether Hamas power from those occupied by the Israeli military.
The 2nd signifier of the truce, which was meant to see Hamas disarming and a phased Israeli withdrawal, has remained stalled for months.Netanyahu’s latest comments underline Israel’s determination to support subject unit connected Hamas, adjacent arsenic unit continues astir regular crossed Gaza. The Hamas-run wellness ministry says much than 900 Palestinians person been killed since the ceasefire began, portion Israel accuses Hamas of repeatedly violating the agreement.
The announcement came a time aft Israel said it had killed Mohammed Odeh, the recently appointed caput of Hamas’s equipped helping successful Gaza. Odeh had replaced Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who was reportedly killed earlier this month. Israeli officials accidental some men played large roles successful readying the October 7, 2023 attacks that triggered the war.Israel has systematically targeted Hamas leaders passim the conflict, sidesplitting respective elder commanders including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif successful 2024.
However, analysts accidental specified assassinations person historically failed to present decisive governmental results.Nasser Khdour, a researcher with the conflict-monitoring organisation ACLED, said the killings demonstrated Israel’s quality to penetrate Hamas’s subject operation but were improbable connected their ain to unit the radical to disarm oregon surrender power of Gaza.Experts constituent to akin examples involving Hezbollah and different militant groups, wherever enactment losses weakened organisations temporarily but did not extremity conflicts.
Political idiosyncratic Max Abrahms warned that targeted killings tin sometimes radicalise movements further, starring to much utmost successors and continued violence.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz meantime reiterated Israel’s purpose of ending Hamas regularisation successful Gaza and again referred to plans for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians from the territory, a connection that has drawn wide planetary criticism.
