Ceasefire oversight board to ask UN Security Council to demand Hamas disarmament

The Board of Peace said on May 20 it will ask the United Nations Security Council to press Hamas to surrender its weapons, adding a new demand to a Gaza ceasefire that has already stalled over aid, governance and security arrangements. The report, seen by The Associated Press, is due to be discussed by the council on May 21. (abcnews.com) Hamas rejected the report, saying it distorted the facts and adopted Israel’s account of events. Human Rights Watch, in a separate statement on May 19, said Israeli authorities were still undermining humanitarian access more than six months after the ceasefire took effect in October 2025. (hrw.org) ### What is the Board of Peace asking the Security Council to do? (abcnews.com) The Board of Peace said the Security Council should press Hamas to disarm as part of implementing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza. The body was set up to oversee the truce and assess whether the parties are complying with the broader plan to end the war. The board’s report identifies weapons decommissioning as the main obstacle to moving the ceasefire forward. AP’s account of the report said the plan also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, a new technocratic Palestinian government taking office, an international security force deploying and reconstruction beginning. (abcnews.com) ### Why has disarmament become the central dispute? Nickolay Mladenov, who heads the Board of Peace, said last week that the ceasefire had stalled over Hamas disarmament. AP reported that Mladenov said reconstruction could not begin while weapons remained in place, and Al Jazeera separately quoted him as saying the board was not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement. (abcnews.com) The ceasefire took effect in October 2025, but major elements of the political plan remain incomplete. Human Rights Watch said the Board of Peace was authorized under U.N. Security Council Resolution 2803 to assess compliance with the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, including aid delivery and restoration of civilian infrastructure. (newsday.com) ### What did Hamas say in response? Hamas said on May 20 that it rejected the Board of Peace report submitted to the Security Council. Middle East Monitor reported that Hamas accused the board of misrepresenting facts and absolving Israel of responsibility for ceasefire violations in Gaza. (apnews.com) The New Arab, also reporting the response, said Hamas objected to the report’s conclusion that its refusal to disarm was the principal obstacle to full implementation of the ceasefire. That response underscored that the dispute is not only over weapons, but over who is being blamed for the truce’s failures. (hrw.org) ### What is happening on aid and civilian protection during the ceasefire? Human Rights Watch said on May 19 that Israel suspended medical evacuations through Rafah for six days. ReliefWeb’s reproduction of the HRW statement said the World Health Organization halted the evacuations in response and cited Gaza Health Ministry figures that more than 1,400 patients had died waiting for evacuation since Rafah was seized in May 2024. (middleeastmonitor.com) OCHA figures cited by Human Rights Watch showed that at least 593 aid workers had been killed in Gaza since October 2023, including eight since the ceasefire began. Human Rights Watch also cited Gaza Health Ministry figures saying continuing Israeli attacks had killed at least 856 Palestinians and wounded 2,463 others during the truce. (newarab.com) ### What happens next at the United Nations? The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to discuss the Board of Peace report on May 21 during a meeting on the Middle East. AP’s account said the board will use that session to seek council backing for its call that Hamas surrender its weapons. (hrw.org) May 21 is the next formal test for the ceasefire mechanism. The participants named in the immediate next step are the Security Council, the Board of Peace led by Mladenov, and Hamas, whose rejection of the report is already on record before the meeting. (abcnews.com) (hrw.org)