Israel Says No Withdrawal Until Hamas Disarms — As Strikes on Gaza Continue
A US-brokered 'breakthrough' gave way to fresh bloodshed within days, according to a single wire source
By Ingrid "Shortwave" Frost
The ink was barely dry on what negotiators billed as a breakthrough when the strikes resumed. Israeli forces killed dozens of people in Gaza in the days after a US-brokered disarmament agreement with Hamas was announced, according to Al Jazeera's weekly Palestine roundup.
According to Al Jazeera's weekly Palestine roundup — the only outlet to report this death toll and the Board of Peace's position — the Press could not independently confirm these details.
The deal's stated purpose was to move toward a wind-down of the conflict, with Hamas disarmament as the trigger for Israeli withdrawal. That trigger has not been pulled. Al Jazeera reports that a newly formed body it calls the Board of Peace, described as an international body overseeing the arrangement, said this week there will be no Israeli pullback from Gaza until Hamas actually disarms. Al Jazeera reports this position was confirmed after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the board's director, whom the outlet identifies as Maldenov — a name and title this desk has not been able to independently verify against a second source, amid rising tension over the disarmament roadmap and the renewed Israeli attacks. Readers should treat the board's mandate, membership and the director's name as reported by a single outlet, not yet independently confirmed.
What that means on the ground, if Al Jazeera's account holds: Gazans buried more dead this week under an agreement meant to stop the killing. The gap between the paper deal and the daily reality is the story, and it is not new — cease-fires and frameworks in this conflict have repeatedly outpaced the willingness of either side to fully act on them.
Away from the strikes, a smaller story captures what passes for normal life in the territory. The BBC reports that thousands of young Gazans are pursuing careers in the digital economy — remote coding jobs, freelance tech work — describing it as a "digital lifeline" even as the wider physical and economic recovery of the territory stalls. It is a narrow opening, not a rebuilding. For now, the guns still decide what Gaza's future looks like more than any board, deal or laptop does.
FILED FROM SOMEWHERE WITH BAD COFFEE —
— Compiled from reporting by Al Jazeera and the BBC.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."