UN officials unveil 15-point Gaza roadmap as pressure mounts on Hamas to disarm

Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov unveiled a 15-point Gaza roadmap at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday.

The plan seeks to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative amid continued tensions between Israel and Hamas. Mladenov warned that the choice is between “a deteriorating status quo” and a new beginning focused on rebuilding the Gaza Strip.

“There is no third option. There never was, and the people of Gaza should not be made to wait while some pretend that there is,” Mladenov said. He said that while large-scale fighting in Gaza has largely subsided, the humanitarian situation in the enclave remains “catastrophic,” with alleged ceasefire violations occurring almost daily. He estimated that roughly 1% of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is still reaching Hamas and other terrorist groups, which he said helps strengthen them. At the same time, Mladenov noted that the number of Gazans receiving humanitarian assistance has increased from 400,000 to 2 million.

Approximately 80% of all buildings in Gaza have reportedly been damaged or destroyed. Furthermore, the reconstruction plan is facing the immense challenge of 70 million tons of rubble across the Gaza Strip and unemployment has reached 80%.

Mladenov said the Gaza plan is based on “reciprocity and verification,” stressing that any Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave must be tied to the verifiable disarmament of Hamas. He said the decommissioning of arms “will be gradual, sequenced and time-bound against an agreed timetable,” and called for “clear, consistent and unequivocal support” from the UNSC. “Diplomacy must continue, cannot be used as an excuse for delay while 2 million people wait in desperate conditions,” Mladenov added.

However, Hamas leaders have repeatedly refused to disarm as stipulated in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in 2024.

The report warned that “reconstruction cannot commence where weapons have not been laid down.”

“This is a version of the future that Israelis, Palestinians and the region should all fear and all mobilize to avoid,” Mladenov said.

French Ambassador to the UN Jérôme Bonnafont responded to the Gaza roadmap by arguing that 850 Gazans have been killed since the ceasefire in October 2024, but without elaborating on how many among the casualties were Hamas terrorists. Bonnafont also argued that the reconstruction of Gaza should not be tied to the disarmament of Hamas.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz acknowledged that the Gaza recovery plan faces considerable challenges and stressed that Washington is working with Israel and other regional partners to advance the Gaza peace plan.