Nickolay Mladenov, a high-ranking representative on President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, addressed the UN Security Council regarding escalating tensions in Gaza following the rejection of a proposed peace roadmap. Mladenov expressed concern about Israel’s continued air operations while also noting Hamas’s failure to fully comply with military activity restrictions under the existing ceasefire framework established last October.
The Board of Peace unveiled a 15-point disarmament plan that would require Hamas to surrender weapons in phases while Israel withdraws troops correspondingly. However, Israel has rejected this approach, maintaining that Hamas must completely disarm before any Israeli forces leave Gaza. This disagreement reflects a fundamental divergence in how the two parties view the implementation timeline for the agreement.
Maldvenov highlighted the human toll of ongoing military operations, noting that at least 1,303 Palestinians, including 300 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes since the October ceasefire began, according to Gaza’s health ministry. He stressed that a true ceasefire requires the cessation of civilian casualties and stated that unilateral use of force undermines the peace process. Conversely, he acknowledged that Hamas has not fully honored its commitment to cease military operations, citing continued weapons stockpiles, tunnel systems, and obstruction of supply convoys.
A key tension emerged regarding the sequencing of demilitarization and Israeli withdrawal. Mladenov emphasized that the roadmap calls for troop withdrawal to follow verified weapons decommissioning through a Palestinian technocratic committee, describing the arrangement as reciprocal. This contrasts with statements by Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, who suggested Israeli withdrawal would only be discussed after Gaza’s complete demilitarization—an interpretation that aligns with Israel’s stated position.
Maldvenov concluded his remarks with a stark warning that allowing the ceasefire to fail would eliminate all remaining pathways for resolution and reconstruction, describing such a collapse as a definitive turning point for the region rather than a mere setback.
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