Gaza Ceasefire Nears 'Point of No Return' Amid Mounting Disarmament Obstacles, UN Warns

The Gaza ceasefire could reach a “point of no return” if fighting resumes, the US-backed Board of Peace's High Representative for Gaza told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, as efforts to implement a deal to disarm Hamas face mounting obstacles.

Nickolay Mladenov stated that Hamas and other Palestinian factions had agreed on July 30 to hand over their weapons, though he cautioned that violence in Gaza continues. “The ceasefire holds and casualties have fallen sharply but they have not stopped,” he said. “A ceasefire under which civilians are still buried is not yet one the people of Gaza can feel.” He added that Hamas and the armed factions in Gaza agreed to transfer full governing authority to a transitional administration recognised by the UN.

Under the road map agreed on by Hamas, the decommissioning of weapons would take place under international supervision, with the International Stabilisation Force supporting verification. The ISF, which is preparing for deployment, is led by US Maj Gen Jasper Jeffers. While Hamas has pledged to surrender its weapons to the new Palestinian governing body—an arrangement hailed as a breakthrough by US President Donald Trump—it has drawn scepticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of the US plan earlier this month.

“Gaza does not have another catastrophe left in it,” Mr Mladenov said. “If this ceasefire collapses … that would not be a setback. It would be a point of no return for everyone.”

Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies, criticised the US-backed Gaza framework, telling the council that the creation of new institutions should be judged on whether they improve conditions for Palestinians. “What is evident is that with the operationalisation of the Gaza Board of Peace, the rights of Palestinians in Gaza have been made subordinate to the far-reaching, capricious and arbitrary requirements of its occupier. This is untenable,” she stated.

US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, sharply responded to Ms Rayburn for failing to address alleged abuses by Hamas. “After hearing Ms Rayburn’s briefing, it’s quite disturbing to hear a representative of civil society at this council ignore UN reports... with repeated and credible reports of torture by Hamas,” Mr Waltz said, also accusing the group of using hospitals as human shields and building tunnels beneath schools.

Meanwhile, Israeli deputy envoy to the UN, Jonathan Miller, affirmed that Israel remains committed to Mr Trump's peace plan, maintaining that “the plan cannot succeed while Hamas remains armed. Disarmament must come first.”