JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sept 2 visited Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, where he vowed not to pull back troops despite a recent push by mediators to advance a US-backed ceasefire plan calling for their withdrawal.

It was the first time Netanyahu has visited the war-shattered territory since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect in October 2025.

“We control the area. We are not retreating. We are staying on this line,” Netanyahu said near the so-called Yellow Line, which demarcates the areas under Hamas and Israeli military control.

“We control 60 per cent of the Strip, and we are not stopping, because we are eliminating the terrorists who threaten us, day in and day out.”

Israel has kept striking the Gaza Strip and its forces have made further inroads despite the US-brokered ceasefire, insisting it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the unprecedented Oct 7, 2023 attack against Israel.

International appeals to move to the next stages of the US-led peace plan have not stopped Israel targeting Palestinians it says are militants.

Netanyahu, facing tight elections in October, in August rejected a proposal for advancing to the next stage of the plan after Hamas said it had agreed to hand over its weapons.

The Israeli premier has vowed no military pullout until the Palestinian Islamist movement is “genuinely” disarmed.

On Sept 1, Israel said its forces and a Palestinian anti-Hamas militia captured the head of Hamas’ internal security apparatus during a groun...