The head of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative on Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to press Hamas to disarm.
“I ask the council members to use all means at their disposal to urge Hamas and all Palestinian factions to accept this framework without delay,” said Nickolay Mladenov, a veteran Bulgarian diplomat.
He told the 15-member UN Security Council there was a “real opportunity” to shift from conflict to recovery.
“Every hour, every day wasted, carries a human cost and further erodes the process for credible and lasting peace,” he said.
“The laying down of arms by militant groups would represent a decisive break from cycles of violence that have defined life in Gaza for decades.”
He added that there can be “no credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood if Gaza remains under the control of Hamas and other armed groups.
Briefing the council at the invitation of US ambassador Mike Waltz, president of the body for March, the High Representative for Gaza said progress had been made under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted in November 2025, which endorsed Mr Trump’s Gaza plan and created the Board of Peace.
He also said a comprehensive framework for the decommissioning and reintegration of armed groups had been agreed by guarantor states – the US, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar – and presented to the parties.
The plan is built around the principle of “one authority, one law, and one weapon”, requiring all armed factions in Gaza, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, to surrender weapons to a transitional Palestinian authority.
He said the process would be phased, prioritising the removal of heavy weapons, rockets and tunnels, with later stages addressing small arms through registration and collection. Compliance would be independently verified, with reconstruction aid tied to progress on disarmament.
The framework also includes amnesty and reintegration programmes for fighters to return to civilian life.
Five countries, he said – Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Morocco – have pledged troops to an International Stabilisation Force to support the transition.
The US ambassador, Mr Waltz, urged council members to “seize this moment” and pressure Hamas to “immediately disarm”.
“Anything short of that mark, the full demilitarisation of Gaza, undermines Gaza's recovery. It undermines Israel's security, and it undermines the stability for the region,” he added.
The Trump administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war in Gaza. Washington in mid-January said it was moving into the second phase of the peace plan which calls for the disarmament of Hamas.
