Hamas’s approval Thursday of the Board of Peace’s disarmament roadmap has triggered a 14-day period in which the sides will finalize the timeline for implementing each step of the proposal, a Board of Peace official tells The Times of Israel.
The potential timelines on the table for the full disarmament process range from roughly 200 to 350 days, another Board of Peace official says during a briefing with reporters.
Once that timeline is locked in, the Board of Peace will begin holding Israel to its commitments from the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire, the second Board of Peace official says.
Israel was supposed to cease striking Gaza and meet a series of benchmarks pertaining to the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip that it has largely ignored.
The Board of Peace largely refrained from holding Israel to those commitments, as Hamas dragged its feet in agreeing to the US-led panel’s disarmament proposal.
Now that Hamas has consented to the roadmap, Israel will be expected to withdraw to the original Yellow Line that was established in the October 2025 ceasefire. That demarcation kept Israel in control of roughly 53 percent of Gaza, but Israel has since violated that clause by pushing to occupy as much as 70% of the Strip.
Israel won’t be required to withdraw beyond the original Yellow Line until Hamas begins handing over its weapons, the first Board of Peace official tells The Times of Israel, adding that the IDF will only be allowed to respond to what are deemed as imminent threats.
Hamas and all other armed Palestinian factions will also be required to cease all military activity after the initial 14-day period is complete and the timelines for the entire roadmap are set, the second Board of Peace official says.
An Implementation Verification Committee (IVC) will be established to independently confirm that both sides are adhering to their commitments from the October 2025 ceasefire.
The roadmap will not advance to a subsequent phase of decommissioning, withdrawal or reconstruction until the completion of the phase before it has been confirmed by the IVC.
Once it is verified that the sides are adhering to the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire, the Board of Peace’s disarmament proposal envisions the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) — the panel of Palestinian technocrats tasked with replacing Hamas in governing the Strip — will gradually begin entering the enclave, the Board of Peace official says.
The NCAG will seek to maintain a continuity of services for the people of Gaza, even as it hires new civil workers, or fires or reassigns those who have been working for Hamas.
While both Board of Peace officials noted the 14-day initial timeline, they — along with a senior US official on the briefing call — appeared to leave the door open to the possibility that the process could be dragged out, just as it has until this point.
“Don’t get stuck on the dates and the number of days because the timelines really depend on how each phase is implemented,” says the second Board of Peace official.
“I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on timing,” the US official adds. “Hopefully both sides will cooperate… and if they don’t, we’ll deal with it accordingly, as we have in the last few months.”