The US-led Board of Peace has declared that Israeli forces will remain in Gaza until Hamas completes full disarmament, issuing a firm clarification that contradicts recent reports suggesting an imminent withdrawal. The statement followed a meeting on Monday between the body’s director-general, Nickolay Mladenov, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem.
“Contrary to inaccurate reports, the withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators,” the Board of Peace said in a social media post after the meeting. The body specified that this requirement covers light weapons, heavy weapons, and tunnels alike. The Yellow Line refers to the demarcation behind which Israeli forces continue to position themselves inside Gaza.
The clarification came amid growing tensions over a disarmament deal announced last Thursday by US President Donald Trump, who hailed it as a “historic agreement.” Hamas negotiator Ghazi Hamad said the group would not implement any deal unless Israel fulfilled its own obligations, including halting attacks and withdrawing troops. Netanyahu’s office responded that Israeli forces would not leave until Hamas was fully disarmed.
The competing demands have deepened the impasse. Since the October 2025 ceasefire, Israel has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza, with over 36 deaths following last week’s disarmament announcement alone. During Monday’s meeting, Mladenov urged Netanyahu to stop the attacks, according to two people familiar with the discussion who spoke to the Associated Press.
Israeli far-right coalition members have signaled they want to reverse course on the deal entirely. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the published agreement “completely different” from what the government had approved and demanded an immediate new vote. Netanyahu’s office said the public version “does not reflect Israel’s positions” and that concerns had been conveyed to Washington.
Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye, which mediated the disarmament deal, issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s targeting of civilians and healthcare facilities as a “flagrant violation of international law.” The three nations urged both parties to honor their commitments under the framework brokered by Washington.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions said they remained committed to completing the second phase of the ceasefire but were awaiting a clear official response from Mladenov and the mediators. The Board of Peace, established by Trump in January to oversee Gaza’s post-war reconstruction and governance, now finds itself at the center of a dispute between the very parties it was created to manage.
As the standoff continues, the prospect of a lasting resolution in Gaza appears increasingly distant. The disarmament-withdrawal sequence that the Board of Peace has now made explicit effectively means Israeli military presence in Gaza could persist indefinitely, given that Hamas shows no sign of surrendering its arsenal while strikes continue on a near-daily basis.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Reuters
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