UNITED NATIONS — Nikolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace high representative in charge of President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan, criticized Israel on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, for its continued attacks on the Palestinian territory. He warned that the alternative to the U.S. ceasefire proposal is the next war.

Mladenov told the U.N. Security Council that Trump’s 20-point plan has progressed from negotiation to implementation. He said the militant group Hamas has agreed to the key provision of disarming and transferring Gaza to civilian rule. However, he noted that Israel’s ongoing strikes since last October’s ceasefire continue to kill Palestinians, albeit at a reduced rate, leaving Gazans unable to feel the conflict is ending.

“After three years of war and 20 years of military operations, I ask, will another strike on a munitions depot stop Hamas from rearming or tightening its grip on Gaza? It will not,” Mladenov said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces will not withdraw from their current positions in Gaza until Hamas has surrendered all its weapons. Mladenov added that in a recent meeting with Netanyahu and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, they addressed the Israeli government’s concerns and narrowed the technical issues remaining.

He emphasized that Israel is working closely with the U.S. to achieve Hamas’ disarmament. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz said concerns about the plan are being addressed and that Hamas’ disarmament will be judged by its actions.

Sources