Hamas must disarm, not ‘disappear’ from Gaza: Mladenov Peace Council | Israel-Palestine War News

“We are not asking for Hamas to disappear as a political group,” says the diplomat who oversees the US-led coalition in Gaza.

Nickolay Mladenov, the ambassador overseeing the “ceasefire” of the United States in Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s International Board of Peace, has said that he can consider Hamas’ political presence in Gaza after the war if the Palestinian group takes up arms.

“We are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political group,” Mladenov told reporters on Wednesday at a rare meeting in Jerusalem.

He added that the ceasefire agreement had disappeared because Hamas had not disarmed, calling it “non-negotiable”.

A ceasefire remained in place that prevented progress in some areas, with Hamas accusing Israel of continuing to violate the agreement.

The first phase of the agreement released the last captives captured in southern Israel in October 2023, in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The transition to the second phase saw Hamas give up its weapons, the Israeli army withdraw, and rebuild the devastated coastal areas after two years of war.

Seven months after the “ceasefire” took effect on October 10, Israeli forces have killed at least 856 Palestinians and controlled more than 50 percent of the Gaza Strip.

Aid groups say Israel has not released the number it promised, while Hamas refuses to give up its weapons.

“The only way we believe we can ensure that Israel’s withdrawal is going round is if we have everything that has happened in Gaza,” Mladenov said.

Hamas points the finger at Israel

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem responded to Mladenov, saying he had to “inform the group that is violating the ceasefire”.

“Pressure must rise on the project to fulfill the terms of the first phase and negotiate the second phase,” Qassem said, adding that more than 850 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the “ceasefire” began.

“Hamas responded well to the proposals made by the Palestinian Authority to implement clear and reasonable measures,” he said in a statement.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said in report Wednesday that Israel carried out 35 percent more attacks in April than in March.

It also said that Israel has been redeploying its power to the devastated Palestine in the five weeks since it stopped its bombing by the United States of Iran.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, 120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the agreement with Iran on April 8.

A United Nations study last year found that Israel’s war on Gaza was murderous as Israeli soldiers “deliberately killed” civilians.