Netanyahu directs Israeli forces to expand Gaza control to 70 percent

AI Summary

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered military forces to expand control over 70% of Gaza, intensifying an ongoing military campaign following the 2023 Hamas attack. The Palestinian territory is heavily affected by the conflict.

By Andreea Popescu and Rami Ayyub JERUSALEM, May 28 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he had directed Israel's military to take more of Gaza, initially by seizing 70% of the Palestinian territory, where the population is already penned into a tiny strip of land along the coast. Israel effectively controls an estimated 64% of the tiny coastal Strip, bombarded to ruins by Israel's two-year military assault that followed the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.