The United Nations' high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has criticized both Israeli strikes and Hamas actions, warning the Security Council on Wednesday that a collapse of the ceasefire would be "a point of no return" for the region. Mladenov stated that while a mechanism for settling remaining questions between his government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been established and committees formed, the process has not stalled but risks remain, including the continued killing of Palestinian civilians.
"A ceasefire in fact under which civilians are still buried is not yet one that the people of Gaza can really feel," Mladenov said. "Every use of force that does not answer an immediate threat, and every incident that the deconfliction mechanism was not asked to resolve, costs this process something very hard to buy back."
He also acknowledged that Hamas has not fully met its commitment to cease all military activities. "Every weapon carried, every tunnel still worked and every convoy still obstructed sets the process back and hands an argument to those who want to resume war," Mladenov added.
Under the new roadmap, Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza is slated to follow the verified decommissioning of Hamas weapons, which would be handed over to a Palestinian technocratic committee intended to govern Gaza under UN supervision. Mladenov emphasized that this process is "sequenced and reciprocal."
This approach contrasts with comments made by President Trump's envoy, Jared Kushner, who suggested that Israeli withdrawal would only be discussed once the demilitarization of Gaza was completed, appearing to align with Israel's demands. Israel's representative at the Security Council meeting affirmed commitment to the October ceasefire plan but insisted it could not succeed while Hamas retained weapons, tunnels, and military infrastructure, stating, "Disarmament must come first."
The Palestinian representative called on the international community to protect Palestinian civilians, alleging they are being killed with impunity in Gaza. Mladenov cautioned that if the ceasefire were to collapse, "there will be no roadmap to return to, there will be no administration to deploy, and there will be nothing left of the ground to rebuild." He characterized such an event not as a setback, but as a definitive end.
The conflict was initiated by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has led to over 73,430 fatalities, according to the territory's health ministry.