Netanyahu: Israel controls 60% of Gaza as strikes kill 10 on Eid
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- Israeli airstrikes killed 10 Palestinians in Gaza City on the first day of Eid al-Adha, including five children, an elderly person, and a Hamas militant, with more than 20 injured according to Shifa Hospital.
- Imad Isleim, a Hamas fighter, was among the dead; mourners carried his body wrapped in a white shroud with a Hamas flag draped over it, and his cousin Nidal said the death was a 'shock' even though the family expected it could happen.
- Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel now controls 60% of the Gaza Strip, up from 50%, and announced the next step is reaching 70%, telling the Jordan Valley Conference: 'we are tightening the grip on Hamas from every direction.'
- Mohammed Odeh, the newly appointed leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades military wing, was killed by an Israeli strike earlier this week, less than two weeks after his predecessor was also killed.
- Gaza's health ministry reported 922 people killed and 2,786 injured across the strip since the fragile ceasefire took effect last October — figures the article notes the international community considers generally reliable.
- Mohammed Shawish, wounded in the strikes, broke down in tears at the hospital morgue holding his wife's body, saying: 'I married my wife for love. For God's sake, I chose her because of love.'
Why it matters: Netanyahu's claim of moving from 50% to 60% control of Gaza — with 70% as his stated next target — comes as strikes killed 10 civilians on one of Islam's holiest days. Since the October ceasefire, Gaza's health ministry has recorded 922 killed and 2,786 injured, numbers the international community treats as reliable, underscoring the gap between the 'fragile ceasefire' label and the ongoing casualty count.
