1,000 days since the Gaza war... Occupation expands its control inside the Strip

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements that his forces intend to expand their control inside the Gaza Strip to cover 70 percent of its area, aiming to tighten the noose on Hamas and force it to disarm, were not merely media threats but have materialized into a noticeable field reality in recent days.

Monitoring the situation on the ground before and after Netanyahu’s remarks, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat found that Israel has indeed expanded its control over new areas within the Strip, primarily by pushing the “Yellow Line” further inland.

Marking 1,000 days since the war began on October 7, 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that 83 percent of the tunnels behind the “Yellow Line” have been destroyed so far, affirming that his forces will not withdraw from the security zone in the Strip.

According to four field sources who spoke separately to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Israeli field control operations have affected almost all parts of the Gaza Strip, with most reaching Salaheddin Street, which runs through the Strip from south to north.

The sources indicated that the operations targeted Khan Younis in the south from multiple directions, as well as Deir al-Balah, Al-Mas’ad village, Al-Maghazi, Wadi Gaza in the central Strip, Kuwait Roundabout, and the areas of Shuja’iyya and Al-Tuffah in Gaza City, along with Jabalia and Al-Atatrah camps in northern Gaza.

This field control involves expanding the “Yellow Line,” defined as the initial withdrawal line according to maps agreed upon in the ceasefire deal of October 2025. These operations are conducted amidst artillery shelling and gunfire from vehicles and drones to eliminate any threats to advancing forces expanding their security control.

With this ground control, Israel has effectively achieved complete security control from Salaheddin Street up to the borders it held before October 7, 2023, covering a distance of at least 4 to 6 kilometers, varying by area.

Palestinian movement across Salaheddin Street has completely stopped, especially in areas where the Yellow Line has advanced, alongside other zones hosting newly established military sites, the number of which has reached 40. Consequently, Al-Rashid Coastal Road remains the only route connecting the northern part of the Strip to its center and south.

The latest Israeli field control operation involved expanding the “Yellow Line” in the central Gaza Strip last Monday. Yellow cubes marking the line were placed just 3 meters east of Salaheddin Street, at the entrance to Gaza’s only power plant, which has been non-operational since the start of the war, as one field source clarified.