UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric Rejects Netanyahu’s Plan To Expand Israel Control Of Gaza To 70%

The United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said “100% of Gaza” should belong to Palestinians after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to expand Israeli control of the Gaza Strip to 70%.

Al Jazeera reported that Dujarric emphasized the UN’s position as Netanyahu’s remarks sparked “significant discussions about the future of the Gaza Strip and the implications for Palestinian sovereignty.”

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The same reporting described Netanyahu’s plan as hinting that “a complete takeover could follow,” while the UN position was framed as rejecting any long-term Israeli hold over Palestinian territory.

In parallel, the UN warning described Israel’s 70% control plan as deepening suffering for children already living under severe overcrowding, lack of food, water and hygiene, with UNICEF spokesperson Salim Oweis saying people in Gaza have been forced into around 40% of the territory.

Netanyahu told a West Bank conference that “Israeli” occupation forces [IOF] have expanded control in Gaza from 50% to 60%, with orders to seize 70% of the territory, while the UN and Palestinian officials criticized the move as breaching ceasefire terms.

The UN’s position was reiterated at the UN headquarters in New York, where Dujarric said “One hundred percent of Gaza should be for the Palestinian people,” and called for Israel to pull back from the so-called “yellow line.”

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The Türkiye Today report quoted Netanyahu saying “My directive is to move to... 70%,” while the Palestinian Foreign Ministry described his announcement as “a serious violation of the foundations of the cease-fire.”

UN-linked reporting also tied the territorial dispute to humanitarian impacts, with the Palestinian Health Ministry figures cited as 890 martyred and 2,677 injured since the truce began, and total losses since October 7, 2023 reaching 72,783 martyred and 172,779 wounded.

UN warnings in Gaza-focused reporting said Israel’s plan to take control of 70% would worsen conditions for children, with Oweis telling reporters in Geneva that “This will just mean that more children will suffer.”

“The United Nations on Friday issued a sharp rebuke to Israel following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s directives to expand military control over the Gaza Strip and reiterating that the entire territory belongs strictly to the Palestinian people”

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Oweis also said there was “no accessible space left to clear the waste,” and described children with respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhoea, and more than half of all households reporting skin diseases.

The same reporting said Israel has killed more than 900 people there since the cease-fire took effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and placed the broader death toll at “more than 72,800 people killed in Gaza since the start of the war.”

Beyond territorial control, the Express Tribune report described UN pushback on Israel’s claims related to a war-zone sexual violence blacklist, with Pramila Patten saying “I never received an iota of information on measures taken by the government of Israel” on preventive steps.