Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen, who is also a member of the Israeli security cabinet, vowed on Wednesday that Israel will control 100% of Gaza as the IDF continues capturing more land in the Palestinian territory in violation of the US-backed ceasefire deal.
“I say this because I sit in the Security Cabinet, and I understand that we cannot allow Hamas to raise its head again – not even by a millimeter. There is no such thing,” Cohen said in an interview with Galei Israel Radio, according to Israel National News.
The Israeli minister said that the IDF is steadily increasing its territorial control of Gaza, which aligns with what Palestinians are reporting on the ground. “We already see that we are progressing. I assume you will speak to me [again] in a few months – our control of the territory will only continue to expand until we reach 100%,” Cohen said.
After the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal was signed in October 2025, the IDF was left occupying about 53% of Gaza, and the agreement explicitly said Israel couldn’t take more territory if Hamas lived up to its end of the deal, which the group did by releasing the remaining Israeli hostages and finding the remains of deceased Israelis.
In the months following the signing of the deal, the IDF increased its control to 60% of the territory, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in May that he ordered an increase to 70%. “If two months ago we controlled 53% of the Strip, about a month ago around 60%, and today we’re approaching 70% of the Strip’s area,” Cohen said.
Israeli military officials speaking to media outlets have said that the IDF has already taken control of 70% of Gaza, and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Tuesday that Palestinians on the ground say that the Israeli military is controlling more than 70%. For weeks now, there have been reports of increased Israeli ground operations and Israeli troops moving the “yellow line,” which separates the IDF-occupied side of Gaza from the rest of the Strip, further west.
The increase in Israeli ground operations comes amid reports that say the Israeli government is reviving its plans for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and rebranding it as a “free movement plan” to gain some international support. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a position in the Defense Ministry, said that a Defense Ministry committee he oversees has drawn up plans to establish three Jewish settlements in Gaza and is seeking Netanyahu’s approval.
