The body overseeing the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza will ask the United Nations Security Council to press the Hamas group to disarm, according to a report seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
The report by the Board of Peace, an international body set up by US President Donald Trump and tasked with overseeing the fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, is expected to be discussed by the Security Council on Thursday when it meets on the situation in the Middle East. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation (of the ceasefire) remains Hamas\u2019 refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control, and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza,\u201d the report said. <\/p>\n
Hamas in a statement rejected the report and said it contains \u201cfallacies.\u201d <\/p>\n
A diplomat familiar with the report confirmed its authenticity, speaking on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public. <\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on Hamas to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave after more than two years of war. <\/p>\n
Board of Peace head has said the ceasefire has stalled <\/strong><\/p>\n Last week, the head of the Board of Peace, former UN Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, acknowledged that the truce had stalled since taking effect in October, saying the deadlock over disarming Hamas had paralyzed progress. <\/p>\n \u201cReconstruction cannot commence where weapons have not been laid down,\u201d the board\u2019s report to the Security Council says. \u201cThe critical variable \u2014 the single factor that unlocks every other element of the plan \u2014 is the conclusion of an agreement on the Roadmap for the full implementation of the plan that includes full decommissioning by Hamas and all armed groups in Gaza.\u201d <\/p>\n The Palestinian group, which led the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza, has accused Israel of failing to meet its obligations under the first phase of the ceasefire and has sought to link any demilitarization to Israeli troop pullbacks. Israel\u2019s military has expanded its control of Gaza since the truce took effect and now controls some 60% of the territory. <\/p>\n The new report calls on the Security Council to \u201creiterate publicly, clearly and consistently that the decommissioning of weapons in Gaza is not merely a requirement (of the UN\u2019s resolution to end the war) but critical for reconstruction to begin, for a timebound Israeli forces withdrawal, and for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood to be pursued.\u201d <\/p>\n The Security Council endorsed the Board of Peace in a resolution in November. <\/p>\n Hamas says the report tries to derail the ceasefire <\/strong><\/p>\n Hamas said the report \u201ccontains a number of fallacies that absolve the occupying government of its responsibilities for the daily violations of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.\u201d <\/p>\n The group said the report ignored Israel\u2019s \u201cfailure to uphold the majority of its commitments\u201d in the ceasefire deal, including the continued restrictions on crossings into the Palestinian territory and preventing the entry of material and equipment needed to repair basic infrastructure and shelter for the largely displaced population. <\/p>\n \u201cThe report\u2019s adoption of the occupation\u2019s conditions regarding disarmament is a dubious attempt to muddy the waters and derail the ceasefire agreement,\u201d Hamas said in a statement. <\/p>\n It called on the Security Council and Mladenov to compel Israel to fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire’ deal’s first phase, “foremost among them the cessation of the daily aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.\u201d <\/p>\n The ceasefire has seen numerous violations The report noted near-daily ceasefire violations, \u201csome of which are serious, and their human consequences \u2014 civilians killed, families living in fear, and continued impediments to humanitarian access \u2014 cannot be minimized.\u201d <\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military still carries out airstrikes in Gaza despite the ceasefire and has pushed deeper into the territory, where it now controls more than it was granted under the ceasefire agreement. Living conditions are dire, with most of the territory\u2019s 2 million people living in tent camps lacking basic services. <\/p>\n Mladenov last week said his office is addressing violations by both sides on a daily basis. But he repeatedly cited the disarmament issue as a central sticking point, saying Hamas\u2019 obligation to give up its arsenal is \u201cnot negotiable” and that progress on all other issues was being held up. <\/p>\n