UN criticizes Israeli plan to expand control in Gaza as airstrikes continue
The United Nations on Friday criticized Israel's reported plans to expand its military control over the Gaza Strip after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces aim to hold 70% of the territory, while fresh airstrikes in Gaza left at least two Palestinians dead and dozens injured.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated the organization's position that Gaza must remain under Palestinian ownership and called on Israel to withdraw from areas it occupies inside the enclave.
"One hundred percent of Gaza should be for the Palestinian people," Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York, reaffirming support for Palestinian self-determination and international law.
Israel plans expanded control
Netanyahu said Israel currently controls about 60% of Gaza and intends to increase that figure to 70%, though he did not provide details on how the expansion would be carried out.
The Israeli military previously said it controlled roughly 53% of the territory after redeploying along the so-called "yellow line," a buffer zone established during earlier phases of efforts to end the conflict.
Palestinian officials and Hamas representatives have accused Israel of gradually pushing the boundary further west, increasing the area under its control beyond 60%.
Fresh strikes reported despite ceasefire
Meanwhile, medical sources in Gaza said Israeli attacks continued despite an ongoing ceasefire.
An Israeli drone strike on a gathering of civilians at Gaza City's fishing port killed two Palestinians and wounded 18 others, including several children. Some of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.
Additional strikes injured two people in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, while four others, including a woman and a child, were wounded in an attack on a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
In northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, a drone reportedly dropped an explosive device on a tent sheltering displaced people, although no casualties were reported.
Rising toll
According to the Gaza Media Office, 930 Palestinians have been killed and 2,819 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire took effect more than seven months ago.
The conflict, which began in October 2023, has devastated the Gaza Strip and caused heavy casualties, with Palestinian authorities reporting tens of thousands of deaths and injuries, most of them women and children.
The latest developments come amid growing international concern over the future of Gaza, territorial control arrangements and efforts to maintain the fragile ceasefire.
Source:AA
