The Board of Peace has said Israeli forces will not withdraw beyond Gaza’s Yellow Line until Hamas completes the decommissioning of its weapons and tunnels, responding to objections from Israeli ministers over its published roadmap.

“Withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete,” the US-led body said after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, 3 August.

It said the requirement covered light and heavy weapons as well as tunnels and would be overseen by an International Stabilisation Force and an implementation verification committee.

The statement followed a meeting between Netanyahu, the board’s high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, and senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone. The board described the discussions as “constructive and detailed”.

The clarification narrows the interpretation of a 15-point roadmap published on 31 July. That document links the gradual decommissioning and storage of heavy weapons, production sites, depots and tunnels to a phased Israeli withdrawal.

It says progress from one phase to the next depends on verified completion of earlier commitments, but does not state explicitly that every Israeli pullback must wait until the entire weapons process has finished.

The Times of Israel reported that the board initially referred to a “full withdrawal” beyond the Yellow Line in its statement, before removing the word “full” minutes later. The board did not explain the change.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Missions Minister Orit Strock had demanded an urgent meeting of Israel’s Security Cabinet and called for the International Stabilisation Force to be prevented from entering Gaza.

In a letter to Netanyahu, the two ministers said the published roadmap differed substantially from the framework presented to the cabinet. They said ministers had approved the earlier proposal on the basis of information that did not match the final wording.

Their objections included provisions allowing weapons to be stored under the authority of a new Palestinian administration rather than transferred to Israel or another external party.

They also criticised the phased withdrawal, the force’s proposed role as a buffer between Israeli troops and Palestinian-administered areas, and references to Palestinian law and a political path towards Palestinian self-determination and statehood.

An unnamed senior Israeli diplomatic source said Israel would not leave its current positions in Gaza and would continue acting against threats to Israeli civilians and soldiers. Netanyahu’s spokesman Doron Spielman separately said the published roadmap “does not reflect Israel’s positions”.

The roadmap requires Israel and Palestinian factions to cease military operations before the second phase begins. A detailed timetable and implementation mechanism would then be prepared within 14 days of approval by all parties.

Mladenov urged Netanyahu to halt Israeli strikes to allow the agreement to advance, two people familiar with the meeting told the Associated Press. Ynet reported that the proposed suspension would last 14 days while the implementation arrangements were completed.

Hamas told the Associated Press that it had accepted the roadmap. It said on Monday that Palestinian factions remained committed to the second phase but were awaiting a clear response from Mladenov and the mediators.

Reuters reported that Hamas rejects the term “disarmament” but has agreed to place weapons in storage under the Palestinian National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, after Israel halts its operations and withdraws in accordance with the October 2025 ceasefire.

That ceasefire initially left Israeli forces controlling about 53% of Gaza. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel’s area of control had since expanded to between 60% and 70%.

The roadmap’s timetable, including the precise sequence of weapons decommissioning and Israeli withdrawal, must still be prepared after all parties approve the document.