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Trump Board Reassures Israel After Objections on Gaza Pullout

A Palestinian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 2, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 2, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Board Reassures Israel After Objections on Gaza Pullout

A Palestinian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 2, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian child walks past the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in the northern Gaza Strip on August 2, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace on Monday assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel's withdrawal in Gaza would only begin after Hamas's complete disarmament, following his objections.

Two members of Netanyahu's security cabinet had urged a vote to tear up the deal championed by Trump after the board released a text that called for Israel to begin a phased withdrawal.

Netanyahu's office said it had raised concerns to the United States, after Trump on Friday hailed as a "major milestone" an agreement by Hamas to hand over weapons to a nascent Palestinian governing committee.

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza under the Board of Peace, met with Netanyahu on Monday for what he acknowledged was difficult work.

But the board said it had reached a "common understanding of the shared objectives" with Israel.

Israel's withdrawal beyond the Yellow Line, which demarcates the area in which Hamas still has control, "will take place only once decommissioning (of weapons) is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators", the board said on X.

Even if Israel withdraws under the plan, it would maintain control of much of Gaza under a Trump-led October ceasefire.

Hamas said late Monday that it was adhering to "what was agreed upon regarding the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, including the commitments of all parties".

The group was "awaiting a clear and official response" from Mladenov and the mediators on what was agreed upon, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

- Trump-Netanyahu gap -

Israel had objected to the board's Thursday text that called for a phased withdrawal within the territory and the immediate cessation of Israeli strikes in Gaza.

"Israel has conveyed its comments and concerns on the proposed framework to our American counterparts. The version that has been made public does not reflect Israel's positions," Doron Spielman, spokesman for the prime minister's office, told AFP ahead of the Mladenov meeting.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had said that the text was "completely different" to the one presented to Netanyahu's security cabinet and along with a colleague had demanded that the cabinet "immediately" hold a new vote on the Gaza plan.

Trump had earlier said that Israel was "very happy" about the disarmament announcement by Hamas, which triggered the war when it carried out the deadliest attack ever against Israel on October 7, 2023.

It was the latest sign of disconnect between Trump and Netanyahu, who faces a tough re-election fight in October and has heavily promoted his relationship with the US leader, whom he met again in Washington last week.

Netanyahu's spokesman said Hamas's actions since the ceasefire have shown that it was preparing for "further October 7-style massacres".

"The indispensable first step toward any lasting arrangement is the genuine, verifiable and irreversible demilitarization of Hamas," Spielman said.

- Backtracking on announcement -

Trump and Netanyahu have also been at loggerheads on Iran, with Israel skeptical of his attempts at diplomacy to end the war the two countries launched in late February.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, offered a more upbeat take on Trump's Gaza efforts, saying the latest development marked "a very positive step with the clear caveat and undertaking that Hamas must be disarmed".

Mohammad Dahlan, a senior Palestinian political figure who has played a key role in the Gaza plan, said after the Board of Peace roadmap that he had spoken to Trump's son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner who told him that Israel would end strikes in Gaza effective Sunday.

But he quickly revised his social media post, instead saying that Kushner was "working with the Israeli side to halt the attacks" in Gaza.

He later accused Netanyahu of working "to obstruct the most promising opportunity to begin ending this war".

On Monday evening, an Israeli strike on a vehicle west of Gaza City killed two Palestinians and injured several others, according to Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the civil defense rescue service. The Israeli military told AFP it targeted two fighters in the strike.

On Sunday, Israeli attacks killed 19 Palestinians, including women and children, according to the civil defense.

Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, which are mediating the truce in Gaza, late on Monday criticized Israel after renewed strikes in the Palestinian territory.

They strongly condemned what they said were "ongoing Israeli violations in the Gaza Strip, particularly the targeting of health facilities and infrastructure, and the casualties among civilians, including women and children".

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Arab World

Iraq’s Ruling Coalition Discusses Arrests of Armed Faction Members

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei receives Iraq’s top judge Faiq Zidan in Tehran on Tuesday (Mehr)
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei receives Iraq’s top judge Faiq Zidan in Tehran on Tuesday (Mehr)
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Iraq’s Ruling Coalition Discusses Arrests of Armed Faction Members

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei receives Iraq’s top judge Faiq Zidan in Tehran on Tuesday (Mehr)
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei receives Iraq’s top judge Faiq Zidan in Tehran on Tuesday (Mehr)

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that regional countries would shape their own future and that the United States would have no place in the region.

Rezaei made the remarks in Tehran during talks with Faiq Zidan, head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council.

He said Iran wanted a strong and independent Iraq and called for a resolution to the status of Iranian opposition groups based along the two countries’ border, an apparent reference to Iranian Kurdish parties in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

His comments came days after Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf visited Baghdad, as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi’s government faces growing pressure to press ahead with its plan to bring all weapons under state control.

During Ghalibaf’s visit, Iraqi National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboudi said the government was moving forward with the plan.

He said the constitution did not allow armed groups to threaten the security of other countries and reaffirmed Baghdad’s commitment to its security agreement with Tehran.

The circumstances surrounding the visit suggested that armed factions were a central focus of the talks, even if the issue did not formally appear on every publicly announced agenda.

Iraqi reports said Ghalibaf conveyed Tehran’s position on government measures targeting the factions’ weapons as Baghdad’s deadline for completing the process approached.

Separately, leaders of the Coordination Framework discussed the arrests of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) members and commanders at a meeting in Baghdad attended by Mohsen Qomi, a representative of Iran’s supreme leader.

Local media said the leaders objected to how the arrests were carried out. They argued that those wanted by the authorities could have been summoned through formal judicial procedures instead of military force.

Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, PMF later said what it called a “misunderstanding” over the arrests of several members had been resolved. It said they had been handed over to PMF security services to pursue their cases in court.

The developments come as al-Zaidi’s government seeks to enforce a state monopoly on weapons, bringing it into direct confrontation with armed factions that wield extensive political and security influence.

The weapons issue poses a sensitive test for al-Zaidi, who is also under US pressure to dismantle armed groups operating outside state control.

Baghdad ‘appreciates Tehran’s support’

In Tehran, Rezaei and Zidan focused their talks on security and judicial ties.

Zidan said Iraq appreciated Iran’s support and stressed the need for regional cooperation and security along the shared border.

He arrived in Tehran on Tuesday at the head of a senior judicial delegation following an official invitation. The delegation included the heads of the Judicial Supervision Commission and the Public Prosecution Service, as well as the director-general of the Judicial Protection Department.

Zidan was received by the Iranian judiciary’s deputy chief for international affairs and Nasser Seraj, secretary of the judiciary’s Human Rights Council.

During the visit, Zidan also met Iranian judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei to discuss closer judicial and legal cooperation.

Ejei said more than 131 Iranian convicts had been transferred from Iraqi prisons over the past year. He called for better prisoner-transfer and exchange mechanisms and measures to ease the difficulties facing their families.

He also said Iranian and Iraqi security were interconnected and urged closer coordination against activities threatening their shared border.

Zidan praised relations between the two countries and said the Iraqi government and people stood with Iran against what he described as “US and Israeli aggression.” He also recalled Iran’s support for Iraq during its war against ISIS.

Zidan also discussed several issues of common interest with Ghalibaf, according to Iraq’s state news agency.

Arab World

Israel Restricts Movement in Three Christian Towns in Southern Lebanon

Civilians from Christian villages in southern Lebanon travel south along the coastal road in a convoy, as an Israeli flag is seen at the entrance to Naqoura in July 2026. (File photo/AFP)
Civilians from Christian villages in southern Lebanon travel south along the coastal road in a convoy, as an Israeli flag is seen at the entrance to Naqoura in July 2026. (File photo/AFP)
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Israel Restricts Movement in Three Christian Towns in Southern Lebanon

Civilians from Christian villages in southern Lebanon travel south along the coastal road in a convoy, as an Israeli flag is seen at the entrance to Naqoura in July 2026. (File photo/AFP)
Civilians from Christian villages in southern Lebanon travel south along the coastal road in a convoy, as an Israeli flag is seen at the entrance to Naqoura in July 2026. (File photo/AFP)

The Israeli military has restricted movement in and out of three beseigned Christian towns in southern Lebanon, forcing residents to travel in prearranged convoys along a single route through Naqoura.

Residents must register their vehicles and submit travelers’ details before entering or leaving Rmeish, Debel and Ain Ebel in the Bint Jbeil district.

People remain in the three towns despite being encircled by Israeli forces occupying every neighboring community. Relief and medical supplies arrive from elsewhere in Lebanon in convoys escorted by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

Local sources in Rmeish told Asharq Al-Awsat that no vehicle may travel alone. At least one convoy of several cars or buses leaves one of the three towns each day.

The Lebanese army and UNIFIL organize the convoys, which must take the coastal road south of Tyre to Naqoura before heading to the Christian towns in Bint Jbeil.

The army escorts them as far as Qlayleh, about 15 km from the Israeli border. UNIFIL vehicles then accompany them to their villages.

Travelers must register their vehicles and provide UNIFIL with their personal details in advance. Their identities are checked and their vehicles searched as part of coordination with Israeli forces to allow them to pass, the sources said.

The restrictions have prompted the Vatican, through its ambassador to Lebanon, to ask the United States to intervene to prevent Israel from limiting the movement of residents of the Christian villages, Asharq Al-Awsat learned.

Marjayoun villages spared restrictions

The measures apply only to Christian villages in Bint Jbeil district and do not extend to those in Marjayoun district.

Residents and visitors can travel freely between Qlayaa, Jdeidet Marjayoun, Burj al-Mulouk and Deir Mimas and out of the towns, local sources in Qlayaa told Asharq Al-Awsat.

They use a route through the Western Bekaa in eastern Lebanon toward Hasbaya and then take the Ibl al-Saqi-Dibbin-Marjayoun road.

Residents continue to visit the towns as usual, but the communities are barred from hosting people displaced from nearby villages and towns. Journalists visiting the area are also prohibited from photographing the nearby town of Khiam, the sources said.

Israeli forces stationed in Kfar Kila and Tall al-Nahhas erected an earth mound on Tuesday near the Deir Mimas-Burj al-Mulouk-Kfar Kila junction, toward Tall al-Nahhas. It lies about 150 meters from inhabited homes in Burj al-Mulouk.

The forces built another earth mound near the Deir Mimas-Burj al-Mulouk-Houra junction.

More than 5,000 properties destroyed in Mais al-Jabal

Meanwhile, the Israeli military has continued bulldozing towns inside the “yellow line” and systematically destroying the homes still standing there.

In recent days, trucks carrying crates filled with explosives have traveled alongside Israeli patrols, a senior security source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The crates are unloaded, and the explosives are placed around homes in occupied towns after they are looted, ahead of their demolition, the source said.

The same method was used in the border town of Mais al-Jabal, the largest town in Marjayoun district, where Israeli forces have continued destroying homes.

“Only dozens of housing units remain in Mais al-Jabal after more than 5,000 homes and commercial properties were destroyed,” the source said.

The latest demolition targeted a school complex consisting of prefabricated buildings that the Iraqi government had helped provide. The complex stood on the town’s outskirts, near Doubiyeh Castle and the road linking the area to Shaqra. Nearby homes were also destroyed.

The Israeli military also brought in specialized equipment to pulverize concrete into material resembling soil, making it easier for groups brought in for that purpose to remove reinforcing steel from destroyed buildings and transport it into Israel, the source said.

Before dawn on Tuesday, an Israeli force advanced toward Tallat al-Sawwan in Mayfadoun, an area inside the yellow line, and took up positions in a house.

Israeli military vehicles also moved from Hadatha into Haris in Bint Jbeil district and fired machine guns toward the town’s outskirts.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli forces had stepped up attacks on villages in the western sector of Tyre district.

Aircraft carried out two strikes on Mansouri and another on Wadi Hassan in Tayr Harfa, as large-scale demolitions took place in Mansouri and Majdal Zoun, the agency said.

Israeli artillery also shelled Ainata and Beit Lif in Bint Jbeil district. Warplanes struck Mansouri and Wadi Hassan on the outskirts of Tayr Harfa, southeast of Tyre.

Arab World

Gaza Parents Urged to Stop Kids Flying Kites After Israel Warning to Hamas

Palestinians make a kite at a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians make a kite at a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Gaza Parents Urged to Stop Kids Flying Kites After Israel Warning to Hamas

Palestinians make a kite at a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians make a kite at a tent camp sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, August 25, 2026. (Reuters)

Gaza parents have been warned to stop their children flying kites in the war-ravaged enclave, after Israel threatened a forceful response if the Hamas group revives a tactic of launching incendiary kites over the border.

The popular committees, comprising representatives of local non-government organizations and charities that run Gaza displacement camps and shelters, issued the warning in a statement late on Monday.

The announcement was coordinated with Hamas authorities, a source in the movement ‌said.

"We are ‌working tirelessly on the ground and doing everything possible ‌to ⁠stop this practice, ⁠not to restrict the childhood of our children, who have already been deprived of the most basic rights to play and live in safety, but to protect their innocent lives," the statement said.

In 2018, Gazans sent incendiary balloons and kites over the border, causing fires across hundreds of acres of open fields and farmlands, in what they said was in protest at the ⁠Israeli blockade of the Hamas-controlled enclave.

KITES SCARE ISRAELI VILLAGERS

In ‌the past month, several kites that ‌were not reported to be carrying incendiary materials were spotted drifting from Gaza into Israel, ‌alarming Israelis who live in the nearby villages which came under ‌attack by Hamas in the October 7, 2023 assault that sparked the Gaza war.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hamas that unless that stopped immediately, "those responsible" for launching kites, balloons or drones toward Israel would be targets of assassination and ‌that areas from which they are sent will be ordered to evacuate.

Umm Mohammed, a mother from Gaza ⁠City who spoke ⁠with Reuters over a chat app, said she was worried her son could be hurt.

"Every summer, my kid, Ahmed, 10, and the kids in the street fly those kites to entertain themselves, but I will not allow him to, not anymore," she said.

A senior Israeli defense official said that Hamas was trying to provoke Israel by encouraging Gazans to fly kites across the border.

A Hamas official told Reuters the group has complained to ceasefire mediators that "Israel was making fake pretexts to continue the war on Gaza."

Israel complained to US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which oversees the implementation of the 2025 Gaza ceasefire deal, about the kites, according to a second Israeli official.