JERUSALEM (AP) — The international diplomat responsible for monitoring the Gaza ceasefire agreement admitted Tuesday that the deal has fallen short of what both sides anticipated.
Nickolay Mladenov, who serves as the chief representative for the International Board of Peace monitoring the Israel-Hamas truce, said the situation remains disappointing for all parties involved.
“Seven months since the ceasefire, the door to the future of Gaza is still closed. It is not what the Palestinians were promised and it is not what they deserve. And it is not giving Israel the security to move forward, as the Israeli people also want,” he said.
The diplomat was visiting Jerusalem Wednesday in an attempt to revive momentum for the ceasefire agreement that Israel and Hamas reached more than seven months ago.
Since the International Board of Peace started meeting last year, minimal advancement has occurred on crucial elements of the step-by-step ceasefire plan, such as removing weapons from Hamas and other armed factions and beginning reconstruction efforts in the heavily damaged territory following two years of conflict.
The original agreement called for Hamas to surrender its arsenal, Israeli military forces to pull back, and massive rebuilding projects to begin in devastated areas of the coastal territory after more than two years of warfare.
However, the months following the ceasefire have been marked by both Israel and Hamas pointing fingers at each other for breaking the agreement. Relief organizations report that Israel has blocked the full amount of humanitarian supplies that were supposed to enter Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas continues to maintain its weapons and controls approximately half of the territory.
Israeli military operations in Gaza have intensified recently following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, raising Palestinian concerns that widespread bombing campaigns and full-scale conflict could resume soon.
Mladenov brings extensive diplomatic experience as a former United Nations representative and advisor who previously held ministerial positions in Bulgaria. He was appointed last year to lead Gaza oversight efforts for the International Board of Peace, established under President Donald Trump to manage post-conflict planning for the region.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted when Hamas-led fighters launched an assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages. Israel’s military response has resulted in more than 72,724 Palestinian deaths, including at least 846 fatalities since the ceasefire began last October.
These casualty figures come from the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilian and military deaths but indicates that roughly half of those killed were women and children. United Nations agencies and independent analysts generally consider the ministry’s data, despite being part of the Hamas-controlled government, to be credible.
