The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, reaffirmed on Friday the United Nations’ position regarding the future of the Gaza Strip after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his intention to expand control over the enclave to approximately 70% of its territory.
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Asked about these statements at a press conference, Dujarric confirmed the organization’s position without nuance: “The entire territory of Gaza should belong to the Palestinian people. That is what we want to happen, and we have been urging Israel to withdraw its occupation forces from the so-called yellow line, and that will remain our stance”.
However, António Guterres’ spokesperson avoided making direct political assessments about Netanyahu’s government’s intentions, referring to the UN’s already reiterated position on the need for Israeli forces to withdraw from the occupied areas.
In this same context, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported an Israeli airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Deir al-Balah, located less than 200 meters from five humanitarian facilities in Gaza. According to their data, no casualties were recorded.
The incident occurred shortly after a military order was given by Israel for its forces to remain in their positions, and although there were no injuries among humanitarian personnel, organizations are assessing material damage in the area.
In that context, the UN insisted that the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers must be guaranteed at all times, regardless of the conflict context. But it lamented that the continuation of these programs depends on the availability of fuel, safe spaces, sufficient personnel, and basic resources.
These statements come after Netanyahu stated on Thursday that he had ordered the Israeli army to take control of 70% of the Gaza Strip, beyond the so-called “yellow line” to which his troops withdrew following the agreement reached in October 2025 with Hamas, implementing the first phase of the US President Donald Trump’s peace proposal.
Netanyahu was interrupted by a member of the audience who said Israel should take “100%” of the Palestinian enclave, to which the prime minister responded by sticking to his current goal. “First 70%, let’s start there,” he said, pointing to a significantly larger area than he should control under the agreement.
The Gaza Health Ministry indicated that same Thursday that since the ceasefire came into effect, 922 deaths and 2,786 injuries have been confirmed, while 781 bodies were recovered from areas from which Israeli forces withdrew, now present in the “yellow line” zone, which covers more than 50% of the Palestinian enclave’s territory.
