
An Al Jazeera investigation reveals Israel has quietly established de facto military control over approximately 1,000 square kilometres across Gaza, southern Lebanon, and southern Syria — territory larger than New York City — while official maps understate the true extent of the expansion. This dramatic reshaping of the Middle East's territorial landscape aligns with biblical prophecy describing Israel's dominance over surrounding lands in the last days, with analysts warning the strategy is deliberately designed to impose permanent facts on the ground. The prophet Ezekiel and Zechariah both describe Israel dwelling in expanded borders before the final conflict at Armageddon, and this accelerating land seizure is a striking marker of that prophetic trajectory (Ezekiel 38:8; Zechariah 12:2).