The failure of the Gaza ceasefire process would be a “point of no return” for the enclave, Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, told the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
Mladenov’s warning followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of Trump’s 15-point peace plan, while Hamas has agreed to hand over its weapons and governing authority under the proposed framework.
What the proposed Gaza framework requires
Hamas agreed on July 30 to the US roadmap, which calls for the group and other armed factions in Gaza to hand over their weapons and transfer full civilian and security authority to a transitional administration recognised by the United Nations, Mladenov said.
The emerging National Committee for the Administration of Gaza would consist of independent Palestinian technocrats. An International Stabilization Force, a nascent unit led by Major General Jasper Jeffers, would supervise weapons decommissioning and be deployed if conditions in Gaza calm.
Why the ceasefire remains at risk
Mladenov said Hamas had committed to ending all military activity, but that commitment had not yet been fully met. He said weapons, tunnels and obstructed convoys could each set the process back and strengthen arguments for renewed war.
He warned that a return to fighting would leave no roadmap to resume, no administration to deploy and nothing left on the ground to rebuild. Netanyahu has said Israel will not withdraw any forces until Hamas fully disarms, opposing the framework even as Trump described it as a breakthrough. For additional context, see “Why Israel’s E1 settlement plan matters before the election”.
Casualties and wider political dispute
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said at least 1,288 Palestinians had been killed and 4,290 wounded since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect in October. It said at least 73,422 Palestinians had been killed since the October 7, 2023 attacks in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and left 240 captive, according to the supplied figures.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the council that Israeli annexations of Palestinian land were undermining prospects for regional peace. He cited the release of bidding tenders for the E1 settlement project in the occupied West Bank and accused the Israeli government of intentionally weakening the 15-point plan.
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