ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The US-backed Board of Peace, which has been tasked with overseeing the ongoing peace process in Gaza, announced Monday that the Israeli military will not withdraw from the Palestinian territory until Hamas has decommissioned its arms.

The Board announced that Nickolay Mladenov, its High Representative for Gaza, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a "constructive and detailed" dialogue, adding that "Israel and the Board of Peace share a common understanding of the ultimate objectives."

"The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the [Gaza] Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance. Reaching it will be a process. And that process will be set out in the next phase of the work," the international body said.

"Contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the full withdrawal of the IDF [Israeli military] beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators. This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons, and the tunnels alike."

The Board announced on Thursday that the Palestinian militant group had agreed to disarm following months of intensive negotiations, adding that Israeli troops would withdraw from the war-ravaged Strip and be replaced by an international stabilization force.

While Hamas accepted the conditions announced in the landmark statement, Israeli officials rejected the terms of withdrawal, with Netanyahu's office telling AFP on Monday that "Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts."

On the same day, Israel's extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on the government to hold a new parliamentary vote on the proposed plan, asserting that the current provisions were not included in the text Israeli ministers, including Smotrich himself, previously voted to approve.

The Yellow Line refers to the demarcation of Gazan territory apportioned to Israeli military control under the terms of an October 2025 ceasefire agreement backed by US President Donald Trump, comprising over 50 percent of the Strip's territory.

However, major international outlets, including Reuters and AFP, have reported that Israel currently occupies territory beyond the demarcation line, effectively controlling some 60 percent of the Palestinian land.

With Israeli parliamentary elections set for the end of October, public pressure on Netanyahu's government may obstruct any Israeli military withdrawal sought by the Board of Peace.

Comprised of many Trump-aligned global leaders, the Board of Peace has been criticized for its technocratic structure and the hefty financial requirements required for participation - to secure a permanent seat, member nations must contribute over $1 billion within the first year.

Only at the bottom of the Board's structure does a Palestinian entity appear: the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), which has been tasked with handling the day-to-day administration of Gaza is led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority deputy minister.

Despite the ceasefire agreement having been reached in October 2025, intermittent Israeli strikes in Gaza have continued unabated, with over 73,000 Palestinians having been killed in Gaza since Hamas' surprise attacks on Israel in October 2023, including over 1,200 killed since the truce took effect.