On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to occupy 70 per cent of Gaza. The question is, what would that leave for Palestinians living there?
The answer is 110 square kilometres, roughly 30 per cent of the land.
A coastal remnant – hemmed in by Egypt to the south, the Mediterranean to the West, and Israeli forces elsewhere – is what remains for 2.1 million people.
What 30% looks like
Before Hamas led a coordinated attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Gaza's population was approximately 2.2 million, making it already one of the most densely populated territories on Earth.
After two-and-a-half years of war, bombardment, famine and forced displacement, approximately 2.1 million Palestinians remain in Gaza, with 1.7 million living in tents, damaged buildings or unsheltered, on the ground.
More than 72,900 Palestinians have been killed and 172,900 injured, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health.
If Mr Netanyahu's directive is enacted, the vast majority of these 2.1 million Palestinians would be forced to live in 110 square kilometres, that's just 52 square metres a person.
Thirty per cent of Gaza is the equivalent of 32 Central Parks. However, the famous New York park serves as a leisure space for 8.3 million visitors a year. Gaza's 110 square kilometres would comprise residential buildings, hospitals, farms, roads and cemeteries for 2.1 million people.
The ceasefire that wasn't
The so-called ceasefire came into effect on October 10, 2025, brokered by the US, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt. Under its terms, Israeli forces were required to withdraw to a demarcation boundary, the Yellow Line, which would leave them in control of 53 per cent of the strip.
They did not fully withdraw. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli forces have continued to use lethal force along, near and sometimes entirely without connection to the Yellow Line, a route whose boundaries aren't clear to the Palestinians living beside it.
Along the northern border, the yellow zone has been advanced by approximately 600 metres in the areas of Al Atatra and Beit Lahia, according to residents.
In Jabalia refugee camp and the town of Jabalia, along the eastern boundary of the North Gaza Governorate, the yellow zone has moved approximately 400 metres closer, from Al Sikka Street towards the main street of Jabalia Camp and Jabalia town.
In Gaza Governorate, the yellow zone has been pushed westward by between 400 and 500 metres in the neighbourhoods of Al Tuffah, Al Shuja'iyya and Al Zaytoun, bringing it into direct contact with Salah Al Din Road.
In the Juhor Al Dik area, the yellow zone has advanced approximately 800 metres deeper into western Gaza, extending beyond Salah Al Din Road in some locations.
East of the Central Governorate, in Al Bureij, Al Maghazi and Deir Al Balah, Israeli forces have advanced westward in recent days, by distances ranging from 200 to 350 metres.
'Voluntary migration'
Palestinians view the expanding buffer zone not as a security measure but as the architecture of permanent displacement. They point to the words of Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said the government intends to implement a plan of “voluntary emigration” from Gaza.
The framing of choice is hard to sustain when the alternative, 110 square kilometres of ruins, with no exit, is what remains.
Additional reporting: Nagham Mohanna.
Graphics: Isaac Arroyo and Roy Cooper.
