Board of Peace official: 'Not asking Hamas to disappear as political movement'

Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative of the Board of Peace overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, said Wednesday that "we are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement." Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Mladenov repeated demands for Hamas and other armed groups to disarm, describing the issue as "not negotiable."

Reconstruction concerns

"You cannot build a future with armed groups running the streets, hiding in tunnels and stockpiling weapons. You cannot deliver reconstruction with militias on every corner," he said. Hamas expressed surprise over the remarks, calling for "the immediate empowerment of the National Committee for Gaza Administration and allowing it to enter the Strip, assume its full responsibilities, and be provided with all the necessary requirements for its work."

Hamas response

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem affirmed that the group had taken "all the required steps to hand over the various areas of governance and administration in the Strip to the national committee." In further remarks, Mladenov said that seven months after the ceasefire took effect in October 2025, "the door to the future of Gaza is still closed."

Ceasefire violations

"We have a ceasefire. It is holding. It is not perfect. It is far from perfect. There are violations every day, and some of them are very serious," he said, as the Israeli army continues daily violations of the truce. Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli attacks have killed around 856 Palestinians and injured 2,463 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Background

The Board of Peace is an 11-member non-political Palestinian technocratic body formed in January to manage civilian affairs and reconstruction in Gaza. The Israeli offensive since October 2023 has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians and devastated around 90% of civilian infrastructure.