Israel Tells White House It Will Keep Targeting Oct. 7 Perpetrators Even as Disarmament Talks Stall

Israel informed the White House it would be willing to negotiate an agreement halting targeted killings of Palestinian militants in Gaza, but that any such deal would exclude those who took part in the October 7, 2023 attack, the Times of Israel reported August 11, 2026 citing Channel 13. Jerusalem conveyed the position to Washington against the backdrop of stalled talks over the Board of Peace's roadmap for Gaza disarmament. The IDF has tightened its rules of engagement for "targeted elimination" strikes in Gaza, now requiring approval from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir rather than the previous threshold of IDF Southern Command chief; no targeted killings of October 7 perpetrators have been reported since the policy change. According to the Jerusalem Post, a surge of targeted strikes since the ceasefire took effect has killed roughly 500 militants. Israeli security services say more than 2,700 people who took part in the October 7 attack have been killed and another 300 are in Israeli custody awaiting prosecution. Netanyahu has separately rejected the Board of Peace's 15-point disarmament roadmap, insisting Hamas undergo "genuine" disarmament before any IDF pullback.