By JNS Staff
Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov denies claims of a financial deal with the terror group.
The Israel Defense Forces carried out an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday targeting a Hamas commander who the military said was planning attacks on troops operating in the area. It was the first reported Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip in more than a week.
The military said it used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to reduce civilian harm.
Separately, IDF troops in southern Gaza on Wednesday fired at a terrorist who crossed the Yellow Line and approached their position in a manner that posed an immediate threat, the military said. The IDF said it identified a hit.
IDF troops under Southern Command remain deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate against immediate threats, the military said.
Israel has scaled back major strikes in Gaza over the past week, under pressure from Washington to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to end the war, Reuters reported. A source familiar with Israel’s position told Reuters that the military was acting only against what it considered immediate threats and had halted near-daily targeted killings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected the Trump-led Board of Peace's 15-point proposal for Gaza, saying Israel would not withdraw its forces until Hamas is fully disarmed. However, Nickolay Mladenov, director-general and high representative for Gaza at the Board of Peace, clarified on Sunday that the 15-point roadmap does not require an IDF pullback from the Yellow Line until Hamas’s disarmament is verified “sector by sector” under American-led oversight.
Mladenov denied claims on Wednesday that the U.S.-backed international body had reached a financial agreement with Hamas.
In a Hebrew X post, Mladenov said no such proposal had been discussed, negotiated or considered, and that the terrorist group would have no role in the governance of Gaza or access to Board of Peace funds.
"Israel is not required to rely on trust or take irreversible steps before verified actions are taken on the ground," Mladenov wrote. "The goal remains the complete dismantling of weapons and ensuring that Gaza can never again pose the kind of threat Israel experienced on Oct. 7."
"The alternatives are for Hamas to remain in power and rebuild its military capabilities, or for Israel to resume control over Gaza’s entire population, at an enormous human, military and economic cost," he added. "The Board of Peace offers a third option: full disarmament, civilian governance, an international security presence under American command, and oversight and verification mechanisms."
Mladenov’s statement followed a Tuesday report by Israel’s Kan News that Hamas could receive up to $400 million in debt relief under the Board of Peace’s 15-point Gaza plan. Kan cited language allowing payments to “suppliers and contract holders,” while a board official clarified that the funds would not cover corruption, financial mismanagement or anything related to the organization's terrorist record.
