Israel has been expanding the territory it controls in the Gaza Strip during the ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Sunday, pushing past the lines that were agreed upon in the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect last October.
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. The army established the “Yellow Line,” demarcating the part of Gaza occupied by Israeli troops, and has been regularly firing at those who approach the line and are deemed a threat.
“In Gaza now, we already control not 50%, but 60%,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, confirming reports that Israel has taken more territory despite the ceasefire still being in effect.
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 military sent the maps to aid groups in Gaza in mid-March, saying the area between the orange line and the yellow line is a restricted zone to enable aid delivery, and that aid groups must coordinate their movements with the military. It says civilians are not affected.
The expanded zone has stirred fears from displaced Palestinians living there that they could be deemed targets by Israel. It has also stoked concerns that Israel may plan to hold the area permanently.
Hellbound and Down 