Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative overseeing the US-founded Board of Peace for Gaza, warned the UN Security Council that the deteriorating status quo in the Palestinian enclave risks becoming "permanent".

Speaking on Thursday, Mladenov presented a roadmap outlining obligations for Israel and Hamas to implement a permanent ceasefire. He urged the Council to use "every means at its disposal" to press Hamas to disarm, while also insisting Israel must uphold its commitments under the October ceasefire.

"Let me say this clearly: the implementation cannot advance through Palestinian obligations alone," Mladenov said. He added that "the continued killings and Israeli restrictions affecting humanitarian flows are not abstract issues."

The war, launched by Israel after the October 7, 2023 attacks, was halted by a ceasefire in October 2025. Over 72,775 Palestinians have been killed. However, Israeli forces continue to kill, with hundreds more killed in the past seven months.

Mladenov warned of the risks of inaction: "The risk is that the deteriorating status quo becomes permanent: a divided Gaza, Hamas holding military and administrative control over two million people across less than half the territory."

"Those people are likely to remain trapped in the rubble, dependent on aid with no meaningful reconstruction, because reconstruction financing will not follow where weapons have not been laid down," he said.

In January, the US announced the Gaza "ceasefire" was moving to phase two, focusing on Hamas's disarmament and long-term governance. But with the war in Iran drawing global attention amid an energy crisis, the transition has stalled for weeks.

Source: www.aljazeera.com