Nickolay Mladenov, the senior diplomat overseeing the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire, visited Jerusalem on Wednesday to push forward the agreement reached between Israel and Hamas over seven months ago. The visit comes as the phased ceasefire has stalled, with little progress on key provisions including demilitarisation and reconstruction.
The truce originally envisioned Hamas handing over its weapons, Israeli forces withdrawing, and rebuilding of the devastated coastal enclave after more than two years of war. Instead, both sides have traded accusations of violations. Aid groups say Israel has not allowed the promised amount of humanitarian aid, while Hamas has not disarmed and remains in control of roughly half of the strip.
Israel has intensified its attacks in Gaza in recent days, following the US-Iran ceasefire, raising fears among Palestinians of a return to full-scale war. Mladenov, a former UN diplomat and Bulgarian government minister, was appointed last year as high representative for Gaza under the International Board of Peace, led by then-President Donald Trump, to oversee post-war plans.
The conflict began on 7 October 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent offensive has killed over 72,724 Palestinians, including at least 846 since the ceasefire took hold last October, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says around half of the deaths were women and children. UN agencies and independent experts generally consider the figures reliable.
