Board of Peace envoy warns ‘permanent’ Gaza divide under current status quo

UN Security Council urged to press for Israeli obligations and Hamas disarmament under Gaza ‘ceasefire’ roadmap.The high representative overseeing the United States-founded Board of Peace for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, has warned that the deteriorating status quo in the devastated Palestinian enclave risks becoming “permanent”.Speaking on Thursday to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Mladenov presented a roadmap detailing obligations for Israel and Hamas to implement a permanent ceasefire. He urged the UNSC to use “every means at its disposal” to press Hamas to disarm, while also saying that Israel must uphold its commitment under a ceasefire agreed in October.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The layered PAC strategy behind pro-Israel election spending in the USlist 2 of 3US condemns Israel’s Ben-Gvir while sanctioning Gaza flotilla organiserslist 3 of 3US lifts sanctions on Francesca Albanese, UN expert on Palestinian rightsend of list“Let me say this clearly: the implementation cannot advance through Palestinian obligations alone,” Mladenov said, speaking via video call.“The continued killings and Israeli restrictions affecting humanitarian flows are not abstract issues,” he said.The war that Israel launched following the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups was halted by a ceasefire in October 2025. More than 72,775 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. But the Israeli military maintains a strict security regime, and many hundreds more have been killed in the past seven months. On Thursday, an Israeli drone attack killed a 26-year-old in Gaza’s al-Mahatta area, east of Deir el-Balah city, according to Wafa news agency.Conflict monitors warn that since the ceasefire in the US-Israel war on Iran was struck last month, Israeli bombardment of Gaza has accelerated. Violent raids by settlers and the military in the occupied West Bank have also been increasing.