Gaza Herald- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli forces have expanded their control inside the Gaza Strip to 60% of its territory through the continued movement of the so-called “yellow line,” despite ceasefire terms agreed upon with the Palestinian resistance under the framework of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday that Netanyahu stated during an event marking the anniversary of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem that the Israeli army now controls 60% of Gaza.
The newspaper noted that this exceeds the area outlined in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025, which had initially placed Israeli-controlled territory at around 53% of the Strip.
Haaretz said it had published a field report in January documenting the westward movement of the yellow line, adding that the expansion has continued in recent months, each time reducing the already extremely limited living space left for Palestinians in Gaza.
According to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, local sources said Israeli forces continue pushing the line westward through military operations. The latest movement reportedly occurred on May 10, when Israeli bulldozers moved yellow-painted concrete blocks west of Salah al-Din Street in the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza.
Under the ceasefire agreement, the “yellow line” separates areas under Israeli military control in eastern Gaza from areas where Palestinians are permitted to remain in the west, covering roughly 53% of the territory.
However, Israel has gradually advanced beyond that boundary into deeper areas of Gaza, creating what has recently been referred to as the “orange line.”
Haaretz quoted Laurie Bouvier, a geographic information systems expert with Doctors Without Borders, saying that while Israel controlled around 53% of Gaza in October, that figure has now risen to approximately 57–58%.
The newspaper added that when including the so-called “orange line” zone — where humanitarian organizations are required to coordinate with the Israeli military to avoid being targeted — Israel effectively controls more than 60% of the Gaza Strip.
Bouvier said the expansion is ongoing, noting that new yellow blocks have recently been observed in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.
Earlier, Hamas official Basem Naim told Anadolu that Israel had shifted the yellow line further west by an estimated additional 8–9% of Gaza’s territory, bringing the total area under Israeli military control to more than 60%.
The Israeli military announced in October 2025, after the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s plan, that it controlled 53% of Gaza. It has not commented on multiple international and UN reports documenting its westward expansion toward the so-called Orange Line.
On September 29, 2025, Trump announced a plan aimed at ending the Israeli war on Gaza. The first phase included a ceasefire, a partial Israeli withdrawal, the release of Israeli captives, and the entry of 600 aid trucks daily.
While Hamas complied with the first phase, Israel failed to fulfill its commitments and continued military attacks, resulting in the killing and injury of hundreds of Palestinians while further expanding its territorial control.
The second phase was supposed to include a broader Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and reconstruction efforts in exchange for the disarmament of Palestinian factions. Israel, however, insisted on disarmament first and did not implement the agreed withdrawal.
Israel launched its military offensive on Gaza on October 8, 2023, a war that lasted two years and killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and wounded over 172,000 others, most of them women and children. The offensive also destroyed around 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure, with the United Nations estimating reconstruction costs at nearly $70 billion.
