Mladenov says Hamas must disarm

Nickolay Mladenov said on May 13 that Hamas must disarm if the Gaza ceasefire is to move forward, setting out the clearest public position yet from the diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered arrangement in the enclave. At a news conference in Jerusalem, Mladenov said the phased deal had been “paralysed” by Hamas’ refusal to give up its weapons and said disarmament was “not negotiable.” He added that Hamas did not have to vanish as a political movement, but could not remain armed. The remarks came as violence in Gaza increased after the April 8 halt in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Reuters reported that 120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, were killed in Gaza in the five weeks after that pause, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which was 20% more than in the previous five-week period. Conflict monitor ACLED said Israel carried out 35% more attacks in April than in March. (aljazeera.com) Mladenov’s position matters because it ties the next phase of the ceasefire to a demand that has long blocked progress. The October 2025 agreement halted major fighting after two years of war and envisioned a later phase in which Hamas would hand over its weapons, Israeli forces would withdraw, and reconstruction of Gaza would begin. Seven months later, those steps remain incomplete. Israeli forces still control more than half of Gaza, according to the reporting, and more than 2 million people are living in a narrow coastal strip, largely in damaged buildings or tents. (usnews.com) “We are not asking Hamas to disappear as a political movement,” Mladenov said, drawing a distinction between dismantling Hamas as an armed group and excluding it entirely from Palestinian politics. He also said he could envision a role for Hamas in postwar Gaza if it disarms. At the same time, he accused Hamas of consolidating power in areas it still controls and said the group was trying to extract better terms in negotiations. (usnews.com) Hamas rejected the thrust of Mladenov’s comments and blamed Israel for failing to honor the existing truce. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said Mladenov should identify “the party violating the ceasefire” and said pressure should be applied to Israel to implement the first phase and enter talks on the second. Hamas has sought to link any demilitarization to Israeli troop pullbacks, according to the reports. (aljazeera.com) Israeli officials, for their part, have said Hamas has been rebuilding. Reuters reported that four Israeli defense officials told the news agency the military had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in recent weeks that Hamas was tightening its grip, rebuilding forces and making weapons. An Israeli military official told Reuters that the ceasefire still allowed Israel to act against imminent threats and that wider battle plans for Gaza had been prepared, though no order to resume full fighting had been given. (aljazeera.com) March 20 offered an earlier sign of the same impasse. Mladenov said then that the United States, Egypt and Qatar had agreed on a reconstruction framework for Gaza, but that carrying it out required the “full decommissioning” of Hamas and every other armed group. A senior U.S. official told NPR, as cited by The Times of Israel, that mediators had presented Hamas with a formal proposal in Cairo. (usnews.com) The next milestone remains phase-two ceasefire negotiations among Israel, Hamas, the United States, Egypt and Qatar, centered on disarmament, Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction. Mladenov said on May 13 that without the “full element of the plan unfolding in Gaza,” Israeli withdrawal to the agreed perimeter would not be secured. (aljazeera.com) (timesofisrael.com)