Envoy says disarmament in Gaza ‘not negotiable’ but sees role for Hamas

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for the International Board of Peace overseeing the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, has acknowledged that little progress had been made.

“Seven months since the ceasefire, the door to the future of Gaza is still closed,” he said.

“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.”

Since the Donald Trump-organised board began convening last year, little progress has been made on key tenets of the phased ceasefire, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups and starting to reconstruct the mostly destroyed enclave after two years of war.

Mr Mladenov was in Jerusalem on Wednesday seeking to advance the ceasefire deal that Israel and Hamas agreed to more than seven months ago.