Nine Months Into a Ceasefire, Israel Now Controls Nearly 70% of Gaza

Nine months after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect between Israel and Hamas on October 10, Israeli forces now control nearly 70% of the Gaza Strip, well beyond the roughly 53% “yellow line” demarcation set under the original truce [1]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had directed the military in stages, from 50% to 60% and now toward 70% of the territory, telling supporters “let’s start with that” as the crowd called for full seizure [3]. Gaza’s health ministry says ceasefire violations have killed 1,092 Palestinians and wounded more than 3,507 since the truce began, with strikes continuing on a near-daily basis [1]. In the latest incidents this week, an Israeli drone strike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp killed two people and separate attacks elsewhere in the territory killed four more, while a drone strike targeting the vehicle of Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem killed his bodyguard [2]. Middle East Monitor separately reported 12 Palestinians killed and 20 injured in strikes over a single 24-hour period this week [4]. President Trump’s broader peace plan, which calls for a full Israeli withdrawal, new Palestinian governance and Hamas’s disarmament, remains stalled nine months after it was brokered [1].

Why It Sucks:

Conservatives

• Hamas hasn’t held up its end of the deal. The ceasefire’s disarmament and governance terms depend on Hamas complying first, and conservatives argue Israel’s expanding buffer is a legitimate response to an armed group that never disarmed as promised [1].
• Buffer zones protect Israeli soldiers. Expanding the area under military control is framed by supporters as a security necessity to prevent Hamas from regrouping and re-arming close to the demarcation line [3].
• A ceasefire requires two compliant parties. Conservatives argue that faulting Israel alone for the truce’s erosion ignores continued Hamas activity that the expanded footprint is meant to suppress [1].

Progressives

• Israel is redrawing the map unilaterally. Expanding from the agreed 53% line to nearly 70% goes well beyond the truce’s original terms, which progressives say guts the credibility of the US-brokered deal [1, 3].
• The civilian death toll keeps climbing under “ceasefire.” More than 1,092 Palestinians have been killed and 3,507 wounded since the truce took effect, numbers progressives say make a mockery of the word “ceasefire” [1].
• Trump’s own peace plan is being sidelined. The administration’s plan calls for Israeli withdrawal and new governance, yet nine months later the opposite is happening on the ground, undercutting the diplomatic win the White House claimed credit for [1].

Gazan Civilians

• Two million people squeezed into shrinking territory. The expansion toward 70% Israeli control forces Gaza’s roughly two million residents into an ever-smaller fraction of an already devastated strip [3].
• Daily strikes despite the promise of peace. Residents of Nuseirat and other areas continue to face lethal drone and artillery strikes nearly a year after a ceasefire was supposed to end the fighting [2, 4].
• No end in sight nine months later. With the broader peace plan stalled and territorial control still expanding, Gazans have no clear timeline for when displacement and bombardment will actually stop [1].

Sources & Citations:

[1] NPR: 9 months into a ceasefire, Israel now controls nearly 70% of Gaza
[2] Al Jazeera: Israeli attacks on Gaza kill six people despite ‘ceasefire’
[3] NPR: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel intends to control 70% of Gaza
[4] Middle East Monitor: 12 Palestinians killed, 20 injured in Israeli strikes in Gaza amid ceasefire violations