IDF reportedly carried out secret withdrawal from parts of Gaza
Israel has quietly withdrawn troops in Gaza from the expanded security zone established in recent months, returning to the original boundary set under last year’s ceasefire, according to Israeli officials cited Tuesday. The move appears to be a concession to President Donald Trump that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly acknowledged.
David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said Israeli forces retreated from the so-called Orange Line to the original Yellow Line, reducing the area under Israeli control from more than 60% to about 53%. Israel Hayom reported in May that the Orange Line added about 34 square kilometers, or 11% of Gaza, to Israeli-controlled territory. A senior Western diplomat said the expansion had US-backed Board of Peace approval after Hamas missed disarmament deadlines.
The reported pullback comes as the Trump administration pressures Israel to advance its Gaza plan. Trump said Monday that Israel “should not be striking in Gaza” and expressed confidence Hamas would surrender its weapons. His envoy Jared Kushner was in Jerusalem for extended talks with Netanyahu on Hamas’s disarmament and future Israeli deployments.
Makovsky suggested Netanyahu has publicly emphasized differences with Trump to satisfy his political base while quietly complying with some US demands. Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel will not withdraw until Hamas disarms and has not acknowledged an agreement to limit strikes west of the Yellow Line absent an imminent threat.
Israeli journalist Ariel Kahana separately reported the return to the Yellow Line. Kan News reported Monday that the IDF was ordered not to push the line farther west, document Hamas ceasefire violations and use personal phones when necessary to record them. The orders followed Netanyahu’s roughly four-hour meeting with Kushner and Board of Peace chief Nickolay Mladenov.
The talks produced no public Israeli commitment to the full US roadmap, but Netanyahu’s office called them “deep and constructive.” Israel and the Board of Peace agreed to working groups on Hamas’s disarmament and Gaza’s public health. They also agreed Gaza’s demilitarization “should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction,” encompassing “every weapon, light and heavy, and every tunnel,” according to a Board of Peace official.
The official said Israel would give Hamas a chance to comply. The reported pullback is notable because an Israeli official said August 3 that Israel would not withdraw from the current line.
Since the October 2025 ceasefire, Israel had expanded control from the original 53% to as much as 60% to 70%, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz. Independent reports put it at roughly 60% to 64%.
The territorial dispute remains a key obstacle to Trump’s Gaza initiative. Hamas wants Israel to stop attacks and return to the Yellow Line before beginning disarmament, while Israel has demanded that Hamas first surrender its weapons and destroy its tunnels.
Kushner met Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo Sunday before traveling to Israel. Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials also participated in the talks.
