UNITED NATIONS: The official overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to use “every means at its disposal” to press Hamas to disarm, warning that every act of violence in the Palestinian territory risks “unraveling” 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’s ceasefire, pointing to the killings of Palestinians and restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid.
The choice before Hamas and Israel is either “a deteriorating status quo” or a new beginning for Palestinians now waiting “in desperate conditions,” he said. “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 in a statement criticized the new report and said it ignored Israel’s failure to comply with the terms of the ceasefire.
