Israel has extended its occupation of territories in Gaza, southern Lebanon and Syria since the start of the regional conflicts, expanding the area under its illegal military control to its largest extent in decades and prompting renewed international criticism.

It is an area larger than many major cities – roughly 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) – and Israel has said it plans to stay indefinitely.

The land seizures began in the aftermath of Hamas’s 2023 cross-border attack. The Israeli military took over large portions of Gaza as part of a broad invasion, and later seized control of chunks of Lebanon and Syria.

Israel calls these areas "buffer zones" and says they are "needed" to prevent future attacks.

In Gaza and Lebanon, Israeli land seizures and evacuation warnings have pushed out more than 3 million people, and troops have demolished towns and neighborhoods, creating large, depopulated zones.

The "buffer zones" – equivalent to roughly 5% of Israel’s area, soon after its founding – are not new borders, which require an agreement between two countries. But many fear these changes could become long-lasting. Iran has made Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon a condition for ending its war with the U.S.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has never had clear borders. Its boundaries have shifted through wars, annexations, cease-fires and peace agreements.

When the Gaza cease-fire went into effect in October 2025, Israel withdrew its troops to a zone demarcated by the so-called "yellow line," giving it control of just over half the strip.

The unlawful Israeli occupation has pushed almost the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people, into vast, squalid tent cities dependent on international aid. The military has bulldozed or demolished wide swaths of the zone, and the area, where most of Gaza’s agricultural land lies, is inaccessible to Palestinians.

Israeli forces are meant to complete a fuller withdrawal under the U.S.-brokered cease-fire. But the U.S.-backed diplomat overseeing the truce says progress is deadlocked over the central sticking point of disarming Hamas.

With the cease-fire process stuck, Israel has since moved the line west and expanded its control to more than 60% of Gaza – 194 square kilometers (75 square miles), according to rights group Gisha. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israeli control of Gaza will increase to 70%.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed it – a move not widely recognized by the international community.

After the 1973 Mideast war, the U.N. created a buffer zone in southern Syria next to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, patrolled by a U.N. force of about 1,100 troops.

In December 2024, after the surprise downfall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, Israel moved its troops into the U.N. buffer zone, saying it was concerned that Syrian opposition forces could attack Israel. It also wanted to disrupt Iran’s ability to smuggle weapons through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The U.N. and other critics say the seizure of land violates a 1974 cease-fire agreement. Civilians in the area have not been instructed to evacuate but have faced checkpoints and tension, with occasional clashes between Israeli soldiers and villagers.

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has called on Israel to withdraw from the area that the U.N. says is 235 square kilometers (91 square miles).

Since capturing the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war, Israel has built well over 100 illegal settlements across the occupied territory.

The government has approved 47 new settlements and formalized or expanded 55 existing settlements just since 2022, according to Peace Now.

After the war in Gaza began, Israel expanded its military operations in the West Bank, displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

Some of the new settlements approved recently are retroactive legalizations of tiny outposts, while others are neighborhoods of existing settlements.

The precipitous growth of illegal settlements stems from settler leaders and supporters holding key positions in Israel’s government and a U.S. administration that is largely pro-settlement.

The international community considers them illegal. The expanded settlements have put enormous restrictions on the daily lives of Palestinians, who view them as the main barrier to a lasting peace agreement because they are built on lands they seek for a future state.