The official overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza has called on the United Nations Security Council to use “every means at its disposal” to pressure Hamas to disarm, warning that ongoing violence risks “unravelling” the agreement. Nickolay Mladenov, high representative of the Board of Peace—an international body established by President Donald Trump—said Israel must also uphold its obligations under the October ceasefire, pointing to killings of Palestinians and restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Speaking to the Security Council, Mladenov said the choice before Hamas and Israel is either “a deteriorating status quo” or a new beginning for Palestinians now waiting “in desperate conditions.” He added: “There is no third option. There never was, and the people of Gaza should not be made to wait while some pretend that there is.”
Mladenov was expanding on the first report by the Board of Peace, which said the main obstacle to full implementation of the ceasefire remains “Hamas’ refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza.” Hamas criticised the report, saying it ignored Israel’s failure to comply with the ceasefire terms.
The Palestinian militant group, which led the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war, has sought to link any demilitarisation to Israeli troop pullbacks. Israel’s military has expanded its control of Gaza since the truce took effect and now controls some 60 per cent of the territory.
Mladenov said if both sides refuse to accept the roadmap to implement Trump’s peace plan, the Board of Peace will discuss ways to provide humanitarian relief and promote recovery. He warned that failure to act would leave Gaza divided, with Hamas holding administrative and military control over 2 million Palestinians trapped in rubble, without hope of reconstruction or a future.
He said the decommissioning of weapons “will be gradual, sequenced and time-bound against an agreed timetable,” and that weapons from Hamas and other armed groups will be transferred to a transitional administration in Gaza, not to Israel. Mladenov asked the council to “use every means at its disposal to urge Hamas to accept the roadmap without further delay, and Israel to uphold its obligations under the ceasefire.”
