Board of Peace official leading Trump’s Gaza ceasefire effort criticizes Israel for its attacks
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- Nickolay Mladenov, Board of Peace high representative overseeing Trump's Gaza ceasefire, told the U.N. Security Council that Israeli strikes since last October's ceasefire are still killing Palestinians — though fewer — and are delaying the demilitarization the plan requires.
- Mladenov insisted Trump's 20-point plan has not stalled, saying it has 'moved from the negotiating table to the engineering table,' and described last week's meeting with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner as working through Israel's concerns 'one by one' and narrowing remaining technical issues.
- Hamas has agreed to the plan's key provision to disarm and turn Gaza over to civilian rule, per Mladenov, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists Israeli forces won't withdraw from current lines until Hamas hands over all its weapons.
- Mladenov warned the Security Council that if war resumes there will be 'no road map to return to' and nothing left on the ground to rebuild — 'a point of no return for everyone.'
- Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador Noa Furman reaffirmed her country's commitment to Trump's plan but stressed it cannot succeed while Hamas remains armed; U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz said concerns are being addressed and Hamas will be judged on its disarmament actions.
- Mladenov said the Trump plan includes a 'credible pathway to a political horizon' and a two-state solution — a framework Netanyahu vehemently opposes.
Why it matters: Mladenov's public criticism of Israel from the podium of Trump's own diplomatic channel puts the U.S. in the awkward position of its envoy scolding a key partner over strikes that continue even as the plan moves to its 'engineering' phase. With Hamas already agreeing to disarm in principle and Netanyahu refusing to pull back until full weapons surrender — a threshold Hamas hasn't met — the sticking point is no longer the plan's existence but the daily military reality on the ground.
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