Israel controls 60% of Gaza — and aims to expand hold to 70% amid Hamas war, Benjamin Netanyahu says

“We know exactly what our mission is, and our mission is one: to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said on May 18. “We are carrying out this mission with the help of our heroic soldiers.” On Thursday, Netanyahu indicated that Israel intends to maintain military pressure on Hamas until the terrorist group’s military and governing capabilities are dismantled. “Now we attacked in Beirut, we attacked Tyre yesterday, our forces crossed the Litani, we are striking them and will strike them very hard,” Netanyahu said. His comments followed a wave of Israeli strikes on Wednesday targeting more than 150 Hezbollah sites in Tyre, Nabatieh, the Bekaa Valley and other areas of Southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have repeatedly stated that military operations in Gaza and Lebanon will continue until security threats posed by Hamas and Hezbollah, both Iranian-backed terrorist organizations, are removed. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, on April 21, 2026. AP Palestinians walk along a street surrounded by buildings destroyed by Israeli military strikes during the Israel-Hamas war in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday, May 29, 2026. AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana Palestinians check the rubble of buildings that were destroyed following overnight Israeli bombardment in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on March 27, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. AFP via Getty Images A picture taken from Rafah shows smoke billowing over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment on Jan. 24, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. AFP via Getty Images