A group led by the United States called the Board of Peace has told Israel's leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israeli troops will leave Gaza only after Hamas gives up all its weapons. This reverses what the Board originally said — that both things would happen at the same time.

The decision came after a meeting on Monday, August 3, in West Jerusalem between Netanyahu and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board's top official for Gaza. In a message posted on X, the Board called the talks "constructive and detailed" (CNN). Two people who spoke to The Associated Press said Mladenov urged Netanyahu to stop attacks on Gaza during the discussions (Al Jazeera).

The Board of Peace was created by US President Donald Trump in January 2026 to manage Gaza after Israel's war there. On July 29, the Board announced it had reached an agreement for Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza to give up their weapons completely (boardofpeace.org).

At first, the Board said two things would happen together: Israeli troops would leave Gaza, and Hamas would hand over its weapons. After the meeting with Netanyahu, the Board changed its plan. Now it says Israeli troops will not pull back beyond what it calls the Yellow Line — a boundary inside Gaza where Israeli forces are still based — until Hamas has fully given up its weapons. That includes small guns, heavy weapons, and underground tunnels (Al Jazeera; Times of Israel).

This change has immediate effects. Hamas says it will not go along with the deal unless Israel does its part too. Before the meeting, Netanyahu's office said the public version of the agreement does not match Israel's positions and that Israel had told the United States about its concerns. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went even further, saying the agreement was "completely different to the one the Israeli government had approved" and demanding a new vote right away (Al Jazeera).

Why does this matter? Think of it like two people who do not trust each other agreeing to put down their weapons at the same time. If one side is suddenly told to go first with no guarantee the other will follow, the whole deal can fall apart. The original plan — doing both steps together — gave Hamas a way to tell its own members that giving up weapons was safe. Taking that away means Hamas has less reason to go along.

On the Israeli side, the Board's change responds to pressure inside Netanyahu's government. Smotrich's demand for a new vote shows that some Israeli leaders think the published agreement goes beyond what their cabinet approved. The Board's reassurance to Israel, reported by Le Monde, seems aimed at keeping Israel on board, even though it risks pushing the other side away.

Three countries — Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye — issued a joint statement condemning Israel's targeting of civilians and healthcare facilities as a "flagrant violation of international law." Their opinion matters because these three countries helped negotiate the disarmament agreement. Whether they keep pushing Hamas to comply depends on whether they believe Israel is keeping its own promises.

The human toll keeps rising. Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the war began in October 2023. Since a ceasefire in October 2025, more than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 36 after the disarmament deal was announced on July 31, 2026 (Al Jazeera).

Those deaths after the deal was announced are especially important. They happened after the Board celebrated what it called a historic agreement, and they test whether the deal can actually work. If violence continues after a deal is publicly praised, the groups being asked to give up weapons and pull back troops have reason to doubt whether either side is serious. The fact that Mladenov reportedly urged Netanyahu to stop the attacks suggests the Board itself knows that continued military action weakens the peace process it is supposed to manage.

The Board now faces a tough challenge. It has gone from a plan where both sides acted at the same time to one where Hamas must go first, with no firm guarantee that Israel will follow through. In any conflict, asking one side to act first is hard. It requires trust that does not exist here, and a strong outside power that can make sure both sides keep their word. The Board, created by the US president, has not yet shown it has that kind of power. Whether the Yellow Line stays as a temporary measure or becomes a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza will depend on rules and enforcement tools that have not yet been explained.