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Israel's military campaign in Gaza began after Hamas, the militant group that has governed the territory since 2007, led an attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 in which around 1,200 people were killed and hostages were taken. Since then, ceasefire and peace efforts have repeatedly stalled over how to end the fighting permanently, with disarming Hamas seen by Israel as a precondition for any lasting deal.

The Board of Peace is a body that has put forward a framework intended to bring the Gaza conflict to a close, covering issues such as governance of the territory after the war and how Hamas would give up its weapons. Its proposals sit alongside other international efforts, including those led by the United States, to broker an end to the fighting and set out what happens in Gaza afterwards.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, has led the country's wartime government and has consistently said Israeli troops will not leave Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed. This dispute matters because it goes to the heart of why a lasting ceasefire has proved so hard to reach: negotiators disagree over whether Israel should withdraw its forces first and verify security afterwards, or whether disarmament and guarantees must come before any troop pullback.