Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, cautioned on Wednesday that abandonment of ceasefire efforts in Gaza would constitute an irreversible setback for all parties involved. Speaking to the United Nations Security Council, Mladenov stated that renewed fighting would leave no framework for reconstruction and no administrative structure in place to oversee humanitarian efforts.
The warning came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected a 15-point peace proposal that the US administration designed to conclude Israel’s military operations in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 1,288 Palestinians have been killed and 4,290 wounded since a US-brokered ceasefire commenced in October. Overall casualty figures since the conflict’s onset have reached significantly higher levels, with at least 73,422 Palestinians killed since October 7, 2023, when attacks by Hamas and allied Palestinian groups resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 240 individuals taken captive.
Under the proposed roadmap, which Hamas endorsed on July 30, weapons decommissioning would be overseen by an International Stabilization Force headed by US Major General Jasper Jeffers. The plan calls for Hamas to surrender its weapons to a new Palestinian administrative body, though Netanyahu has opposed this framework. The Israeli government has stated it will not withdraw forces until Hamas fully disarms. A prospective National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, comprising independent Palestinian technocrats, would manage civilian services and humanitarian operations under the proposal.
Mladenov highlighted commitments made by Hamas to transfer governing authority and disarm, but noted risks persist in both directions. He indicated that continued weapons possession, tunnel construction, and obstruction of supply convoys undermine the peace process. Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour separately raised concerns regarding Israeli settlement expansion, referencing recent bidding announcements for the E1 project in the occupied West Bank and characterizing such actions as deliberate obstruction of peace efforts.
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