Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's goal to seize 70 percent of the Gaza Strip is not part of the U.S.-drafted 20-point plan to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas and rebuild the territory, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday. "We have a plan -- it doesn't call for that," Rubio told U.S. lawmakers at a hearing. "And at the end of the day, we understand that what we want, and I think what the Israelis would ultimately want, is a Gaza that is governed by a non-Hamas (entity)," Rubio said.
Netanyahu said last Thursday that he has issued a directive to increase the Israeli military's control over the Gaza Strip from 60 percent to 70 percent of the territory.
Speaking at a conference in the West Bank, Netanyahu said that Israel was in control of 50 percent of the territory of the Gaza Strip, and moved to 60 percent.
Hamas has accused the move of being a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement that took effect in October 2025.
Israel's Gaza seizure not on US plan: Rubio
