Israel Expands Gaza Control to Nearly 60 Percent as It Plans To Resume War

Israel has expanded its control of the Gaza Strip to nearly 60 percent of the territory as it plans to resume war, according to Army Radio, which said operational plans for renewed attacks have been completed with a final decision pending approval from Israel’s political leadership.

The Middle East Eye report says Israeli forces have expanded the so-called “Yellow Line” to absorb more of Gaza, pushing the population into roughly 40 percent of the enclave while troops remain stationed across the remaining 60 percent in the south, north and east.

Al Jazeera

It also says the US brokered a ceasefire in October intended to end Israel’s two-year genocide by halting attacks and allowing humanitarian aid to flow, but that Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, killing at least 832 Palestinians in near-daily shelling, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The same report adds that Israel’s forces have killed more than 72,000 Palestinians since October 2023, with thousands more missing and beneath rubble.

The European Commission rebuked Israel over an advance beyond a Gaza ceasefire line, with spokesperson Anouar El Anouni telling reporters in Brussels on Monday (4 April) that the EU rejects any attempt at territorial change in the Gaza Strip.

EUobserver says the Israeli Defence Forces expanded into Gaza by pushing past the so-called yellow and orange lines, where the ‘yellow line’ places around 53 percent of Gaza under Israeli military control and the ‘orange line’ is described as a buffer zone extending roughly 200 to 500 metres into restricted areas in the Jabalia area.

Al-Jazeera Net

It adds that the new zone impacts aid organisations required to coordinate their movements with the Israelis, complicating aid efforts, while also noting reports that the yellow line has been pushed further into the Gaza side to expand Israel’s zone of control to some 60 percent.

In parallel, Al-Jazeera Net frames the “orange line” as a new on the ground development imposed by the Israeli army that circumvents Gaza’s geography, saying it comes as part of the expansion of what the ceasefire agreement since October 10, 2025 stipulates.

As Israel’s lines of control expand, the sources describe mounting constraints on humanitarian access and worsening civilian conditions.

Al-Jazeera Net says international reports and United Nations agencies revealed that Israel is expanding its control over the Gaza Strip by establishing the orange line, to be added to the military control system that now encircles about 64 percent of the territory.

It also says the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported the army gradually pushed this line westward over the past months, increasing its area of control from 53 percent at the start of the ceasefire to about 59 percent currently.

EUobserver adds that up to 850 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire and that UNRWA said “The risk of communicable disease outbreaks continues to rise,” as “Some 90 percent water and sanitation infrastructure has been destroyed or damaged in Gaza.”