Gaza’s Peacemakers Tell Israel: No Withdrawal Until Hamas Disarms, No Matter Who’s Still Dying

Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for “constructive and detailed” talks on the disarmament agreement the board reached with Hamas last week, while pressing Israel to halt its strikes inside the Gaza Strip. The board subsequently stated that any Israeli military withdrawal beyond the so-called Yellow Line will occur only once Hamas’s weapons decommissioning is fully complete, describing the goal as “the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance” [1, 2]. Israel has not agreed to halt its strikes; since the October 2025 ceasefire took effect, Israeli forces have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians, including over 36 since the disarmament deal was announced last Thursday, with at least two more Palestinians killed in an airstrike on a vehicle southwest of Gaza City on Monday [3, 4].

Israeli politicians have publicly signaled displeasure with the disarmament deal that President Trump announced last Thursday, even as the strikes continued [2]. Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, which mediated the disarmament agreement, issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s targeting of civilians and healthcare facilities in Gaza as a “flagrant violation of international law” [3].

Why It Sucks:

Palestinians in Gaza

• The ceasefire keeps not being a ceasefire. More than 1,200 people have been killed since October’s supposed ceasefire, including dozens after a disarmament deal was announced as a breakthrough, leaving Gazans facing the same lethal strikes under a different diplomatic headline [3].
• A deal on paper isn’t a deal that protects anyone. The Palestinian Authority itself said the agreement on implementing the ceasefire’s next phase “remains on paper” while killings continue, meaning the people it’s supposed to protect see no practical difference on the ground [3].
• Disarmament is being demanded before security is delivered. Being told that Israeli withdrawal will only happen after Hamas fully disarms, while Israeli strikes continue in the meantime, asks Gaza’s population to absorb ongoing violence now in exchange for a promise of safety later [1].

Israeli Government and Security Establishment

• Halting strikes without disarmament first is seen as premature. Israeli officials’ public displeasure with the deal reflects a view that pausing military pressure before Hamas actually decommissions its weapons would repeat past mistakes that let armed groups regroup [2].
• Israel insists the strikes target ongoing threats, not civilians. The government has “steadfastly refused” outside pressure to stop strikes, consistent with its position that operations respond to specific militant activity rather than violate the ceasefire’s intent [3].
• A foreign-brokered board is dictating terms on Israeli security. Having a US-led Board of Peace set the conditions for when and how Israeli forces may withdraw, over the objections of Israeli politicians, is viewed domestically as external actors overriding Israel’s own security judgment [2].

Board of Peace and International Mediators

• The credibility of the whole peace framework is on the line. Mladenov’s direct appeal to Netanyahu to stop the strikes, made in person days after the disarmament deal was announced, shows mediators scrambling to keep a fragile, heavily-publicized agreement from collapsing before implementation even begins [1, 2].
• Continued strikes make Hamas compliance harder to secure. Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye’s joint condemnation reflects mediator concern that Israeli strikes on civilians and healthcare facilities undermine the very trust needed to get Hamas to follow through on decommissioning [3].
• The sequencing fight threatens to stall everything. With withdrawal conditioned entirely on disarmament completion, and disarmament conditioned by Hamas on Israel honoring its side, mediators are caught trying to break a chicken-and-egg standoff that neither party has an incentive to move first on [1, 3].

Sources & Citations:

[1] Al Jazeera: Board of Peace says no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before Hamas disarms
[2] The Washington Post: Board of Peace envoy meets with Netanyahu on Gaza disarmament deal and urges a halt to strikes
[3] Anadolu Agency: Agreement on phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire plan ‘remains on paper’ as Gaza killings continue: Palestine
[4] Anadolu Agency: Israeli strike kills 2 Palestinians in new Gaza ceasefire violation