JERUSALEM, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will "soon" take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, despite the terms of an ongoing fragile ceasefire.
"We currently hold more than 60 percent of the enclave; soon we will reach 70 percent," Netanyahu said during his weekly cabinet meeting. He said Israel was still fighting Hamas and "eliminating" the group's senior commanders.
In Lebanon, Netanyahu said Israel was "eliminating villages of terror" near the Israeli border. He said Israeli forces had killed about 350 people in Lebanon over the past week, claiming they were all militants.
A ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025 allows Israel to keep forces behind the so-called "yellow line" demarcation, which includes about half of the war-devastated enclave.
Israel has continued to carry out daily attacks across Gaza. Earlier on Saturday, Gaza-based health authorities said that 951 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect. ■
