Peace Council Demands Hamas Surrender Weapons Before Israel Leaves Gaza

The US-led Board of Peace said that Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza only after Hamas fully disarms, after its director-general met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in West Jerusalem.

The board said the Israeli military would move beyond the “Yellow Line” only when decommissioning is complete, Al Jazeera reported. “This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike,” the board said, referring to the demarcation line behind which Israeli forces remain based in Gaza.

“The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance,” the board said. Hamas said the deal would not be implemented unless Israel carries out its part of the agreement, and said it and other Palestinian factions remained committed to completing the second phase of the ceasefire.

Netanyahu’s office said before the meeting that the public version of the agreement “does not reflect Israel’s positions” and that Israel had shared its concerns with the United States. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the agreement was “completely different” from the one the Israeli government had approved and demanded a new vote “immediately”.

During the talks, Mladenov urged Netanyahu to stop attacks on Gaza, two people familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press. Israel has refused to stop attacks despite an October 2025 ceasefire, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians since then, including more than 36 after the disarmament deal was announced.

US President Donald Trump established the Board of Peace in January to oversee Gaza’s administration after Israel’s war. Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, which mediated the disarmament deal, condemned Israel’s targeting of civilians and healthcare facilities as a “flagrant violation of international law”.