Netanyahu Orders IDF to Seize 70 Percent of Gaza Strip, Leaked Video Shows

Leaked Footage Triggers Diplomatic Furor

Video footage broadcast by Israel's Channel 12 television network on May 28, 2026, showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issuing a directive to the Israel Defense Forces to expand military occupation to encompass approximately 70 percent of the Gaza Strip. The recording, verified by the network as authentic, captures Netanyahu outlining what he described as a phased approach to consolidating Israeli control over the Palestinian coastal enclave. The footage emerged amid ongoing hostilities that have persisted for more than a year following the October 2023 cross-border attacks that triggered the current conflict.

The disclosure immediately drew sharp reactions from regional governments and international bodies. According to reporting by Al Jazeera English, which carried the footage on its global platform, the directive would amount to a formal annexation of the majority of Gazan territory—effectively dismantling any remaining framework for a sovereign Palestinian state in the coastal strip. The IDF had no immediate comment on the specific contents of the recording.

What the Footage Shows—and What It Omits

According to the Channel 12 broadcast, Netanyahu described the proposed territorial expansion in terms of a step-by-step military timetable. The prime minister's office has not issued a formal denial of the footage's authenticity, though government officials have cautioned against drawing broad conclusions from what they characterized as an internal discussion captured without proper context.

The framing of the directive matters considerably. Israeli officials have consistently maintained that military operations in Gaza target Hamas infrastructure and aim to secure the return of remaining hostages held since the October 2023 attacks. A 70-percent territorial seizure, however, would represent an explicit territorial objective rather than a tactical one—language that departs from the stated war aims articulated by the cabinet since the conflict began.

Israeli security analysts quoted in regional coverage noted the practical implications: seizing and administering 70 percent of Gaza would require a sustained ground presence numbering tens of thousands of troops, with uncertain timelines for withdrawal. The Channel 12 report did not specify whether the prime minister addressed the operational logistics or exit conditions embedded in the directive.

Regional and International Fallout

According to Iranian state-aligned outlet Tasnim News, which carried a translation and analysis of the Channel 12 broadcast, the leaked footage represents Tel Aviv's "new and step-by-step plan to expand the military occupation." The Tasnim report characterizes the directive as a formalization of annexation intent, though readers should note that Iranian state-adjacent sources frame events through a lens shaped by Tehran's strategic rivalry with Israel.

Egypt and Jordan—both of which maintain peace treaties with Israel—issued statements expressing concern, though neither government has publicly named specific retaliatory measures. Qatar, which has served as a key mediator in hostage negotiations, said it was "studying the implications" of the reported directive without elaborating.

The European Union's foreign policy chief called for an emergency review of the footage's contents, while the United States—Israel's principal arms supplier and diplomatic protector at the United Nations—offered no immediate response to questions from reporters at the State Department briefing on May 28. The Biden administration has maintained a posture of conditional support for Israel's stated self-defense objectives while periodically expressing concern over civilian casualties and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Structural Questions and the Annexation Spectrum

The Channel 12 disclosure arrives at a moment when the post-war future of Gaza has become the central unresolved question in the conflict. Israel's government has repeatedly rejected proposals for Palestinian Authority governance in the strip, while Hamas has insisted on a complete Israeli withdrawal as a precondition for any negotiated settlement. The reported directive to seize 70 percent of the territory would appear to foreclose both of those frameworks.

Territorial annexation—though formally illegal under international law—has functional precedents in how Israel has administered occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement blocs for decades. The legal framework governing those areas differs from Gaza, which Israel unilaterally withdrew from in 2005, but the territorial footprint of occupation can be maintained through military control without formal political annexation.

The footage does not specify whether the 70-percent figure refers to contiguous territorial control or a patchwork of zones under military administration. Both scenarios would fundamentally alter the demographic and governance landscape of the strip, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians have resided under a blockade that has constrained economic activity and population movement since 2007.

The humanitarian implications of displacing or subordinating the population of 70 percent of Gaza under direct Israeli military rule remain unaddressed in the footage. United Nations agencies have repeatedly warned that further forced displacement would exacerbate what the UN has characterized as a man-made famine in northern Gaza. Whether the directive accounts for—or simply disregard—these population dynamics remains unclear from the broadcast content.

Forward View: Negotiation Collapse or Leverage Play?

The disclosure complicates ongoing diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement. Qatari and Egyptian mediators have spent months shuttling between the parties, and the leaked directive—coming at a moment when talks appeared to be faltering—could represent either a negotiating tactic designed to extract concessions or a genuine expression of governmental policy.

Israeli political analysts differed on interpretation. Some suggested the recording was deliberately surfaced by Netanyahu allies to signal hardline resolve ahead of a cabinet showdown over proposed concessions. Others pointed to the prime minister's precarious coalition position—his government depends on ultranationalist parties that have publicly demanded exactly the kind of territorial expansion the footage depicts.

What the sources do not yet establish is whether the IDF has begun operational planning for the directive, whether cabinet approval would be required, or whether the United States has been consulted or informed. The absence of a formal government statement confirming or denying the directive's contents leaves considerable uncertainty about its immediate policy weight.

The broader question is whether this disclosure represents a watershed in the conflict's character—from a war aimed at degrading a militant group to a campaign with explicit territorial objectives. If the latter interpretation holds, it would mark a qualitative shift in the conflict that the international community has, so far, shown limited appetite to confront directly.

Desk note: This publication followed the Al Jazeera English reporting and the Tasnim News translation of the Channel 12 footage as the primary sources. Given the sourcing constraints, the article foregrounds the verifiable content of the broadcast and notes sourcing caveats where Iranian state-adjacent media framing appears. The absence of an IDF or Prime Minister's Office confirmation remains a significant gap in the public record as of publication.

Wire provenance

This editorial synthesis draws on the following public wire/social posts:

• https://t.me/aljazeeraglobal/
• https://t.me/tasnimnews_en/