Disarmament Before Withdrawal, Board Says
The Board of Peace overseeing Gaza’s ceasefire confirmed on Monday that Israeli forces will not withdraw beyond the so-called “yellow line” until Hamas completes its disarmament process, noting that the movement had committed to mediators to hand over its light and heavy weapons and destroy its tunnel network, with an international stabilization force set to oversee implementation of the disarmament process. The board added that progress toward full implementation of the peace agreement depends on all parties fulfilling their obligations, amid an ongoing dispute over the order in which the deal’s provisions should be carried out.
A Standoff Over What Comes First.
President Trump announced last Thursday that “significant progress” had been made in implementing the Gaza peace plan agreed upon last October, stating that the plan includes Hamas’s disarmament in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Strip. But Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz insisted on Sunday that Israeli forces would not withdraw before Hamas fully disarms and its tunnels are destroyed, while Hamas maintains that a halt to Israeli military operations and troop withdrawal must come before implementing the weapons provision. Hamas is also rejecting the term “disarmament” itself, insisting instead that it will accept storing its weapons under the supervision of a US-backed Palestinian administration. Still, only after Israeli military operations stop and troops withdraw. A spokesperson for the Israeli prime minister’s office, Doron Spielman, said Israel had informed Washington of its concerns over the plan’s implementation mechanism, stressing that Israel’s top priority is that no progress occur before Hamas’s complete and genuine disarmament.
Expanding Control and Mass Displacement Despite the Deal.
According to the Israeli defense minister, Israeli forces currently control between 60% and 70% of the Gaza Strip, having expanded their deployment rather than scaled it back — even though the ceasefire agreement originally stipulated that Israel would hold roughly 53% of Gaza as a prelude to a later, gradual withdrawal. Residents told Reuters that the recent expansion around the “yellow line” area has forced thousands of civilians to flee at least five areas, including Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and Khan Younis, while the United Nations had earlier reported the displacement of dozens of families from eastern Gaza City due to Israeli evacuation orders.
According to Gaza’s health authorities, at least 1,230 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the peace plan was announced last October, while Israeli figures put Israeli military deaths at four soldiers over the same period — a stark disparity underscoring how far the ceasefire has been from holding in practice, even as negotiators continue working through the disputed sequencing of disarmament, withdrawal, and the deal’s remaining implementation steps.