Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip were ordered not to expand their "Yellow Line" westward following a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, the US envoy and President Trump's son-in-law, Israeli media reported Monday.
The "Yellow Line" refers to the line to which Israeli forces withdrew as part of phase one of Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN reported Monday evening that "troops in Gaza had received formal orders not to advance the line westward."
The broadcaster also reported that troops had been instructed to document any alleged violations of the ceasefire by Palestinian group Hamas, including using their personal phones when necessary.
The orders were issued after Netanyahu met earlier Monday with Kushner and Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov, according to KAN.
The meeting, lasting about four hours, came amid growing US pressure on Israel to move forward with phase two of Trump's Gaza plan, the broadcaster reported.
Under the original "Yellow Line" outlined in Trump's 20-point plan, which he presented last September, Israel retained control of slightly more than half of the Gaza Strip, according to KAN.
The Israeli army "has since advanced westward in recent months and now effectively controls nearly two-thirds of the territory," the broadcaster reported, adding that Monday's orders marked the first time Israeli forces had been instructed to halt their westward advance.
Netanyahu met with Kushner and Mladenov in Israel earlier Monday.
Kushner arrived in Israel Sunday evening from Egypt, where he met with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Hamas officials led by the group's political bureau chief, Khalil al-Hayya.
Netanyahu is demanding that Hamas fully disarm before Israel begins withdrawing its forces from Gaza, while Hamas says it is prepared to surrender its weapons only if that is accompanied by a phased and orderly Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
Netanyahu previously rejected the 15-point Gaza plan and insisted that Hamas disarm first, despite a roadmap issued by the Board of Peace on July 31 that calls for Hamas' disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal to proceed gradually and in parallel.
Mediators continue efforts to advance implementation of a ceasefire agreement that took effect last October. Israeli violations of the agreement have killed 1,262 Palestinians and wounded 4,168 others, according to the latest Health Ministry figures in Gaza.
Israel has carried out a genocide in Gaza since Oct. 8, 2023, killing more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounding more than 174,000, most of them women and children, while destroying about 90% of the territory's infrastructure.
