A high representative for Gaza's postwar transition met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss a new disarmament deal with Hamas and pressed for a cessation of Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace official, held what was described as "constructive and detailed" talks with Netanyahu and his team.
The stated objective of the negotiations is "the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance," according to a statement from the Board of Peace. Mladenov and senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone are actively encouraging Israel to halt strikes as they advance the agreement for Hamas to disarm.
Hamas issued a statement Monday affirming its commitment to the "second phase of the ceasefire agreement" and awaiting a "clear and official response" from Mladenov and mediators regarding the terms. The agreement, announced by President Donald Trump last Thursday, is part of a broader ceasefire deal reached last year. It mandates Israel to cease military operations and Hamas and its allies to halt all militant activity, outlining general terms for weapons decommissioning.
Israel has previously expressed "serious security concerns" regarding the agreement and shared them with the United States. In the hours following the text's release, Israel increased its strikes in Gaza, which local health officials reported killed 17 people between Saturday night and Sunday. However, no airstrikes were recorded in Gaza on Monday.
Since the October ceasefire deal, which ended two years of major fighting, Israeli attacks have resulted in 1,250 deaths, according to the notes. The Gaza Health Ministry reports that Israel's military offensive in Gaza has killed 73,375 people. The ministry's figures, considered generally reliable by the United Nations, do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey denounced the ongoing Israeli strikes in a statement Monday, specifically condemning the targeting of healthcare facilities and the resulting civilian casualties as a violation of international law and humanitarian law. They also called for continued international pressure on Israel to uphold its commitments under the deal.
The conflict originated when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and the taking of 251 hostages.