Trump’s Board of Peace assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 3 or 4 that Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza would begin only after Hamas completes full disarmament, according to multiple sources [1, 2, 3, 4]. The Board’s text specifies that Israeli forces would not pull back beyond the Yellow Line marking Hamas’s control boundary until weapon decommissioning is verified by mediators [1, 2, 3, 4].
Despite the assurance, two members of Netanyahu’s security cabinet urged a vote to reject the peace deal after the Board published a text calling for phased Israeli withdrawal [1, 2, 3, 4]. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the publicly released document was "completely different" from what the cabinet had seen and demanded an immediate new vote on the Gaza plan [4].
Netanyahu’s office raised concerns in conversations with the US, stating the public version of the Board’s framework did not reflect Israel’s positions. Spokesman Doron Spielman said, "Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts. The version that has been made public does not reflect Israel’s positions" [2].
Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, met Netanyahu on August 3 for what sources described as difficult talks on the peace plan amid objections from within the Israeli government [1, 2, 3, 4].
Donald Trump on July 31 hailed Hamas’s agreement to hand over weapons as a "major milestone" in the peace process and described the Board’s 20-point plan targeting Hamas’s full disarmament as "historic" [1, 2, 3, 5, 4]. Nevertheless, signs of disconnect have emerged between Trump and Netanyahu, with the prime minister preparing for a difficult re-election campaign in October while having previously promoted his close relationship with Trump [1, 2, 4].
Even if Israel withdraws as planned, it would maintain control over much of Gaza under a Trump-backed ceasefire scheduled for October [1, 2, 3, 4]. The war began after Hamas’s deadliest-ever attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 [1, 2, 4].
The next major step is the expected Trump-led ceasefire in Gaza planned for October, during which Israeli forces are set to keep control of significant areas even as withdrawal phases proceed [1, 2, 3, 4].
