Overview
- Mediating envoy Nickolay Mladenov, who briefed reporters after meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, said the ceasefire is holding yet suffers daily and sometimes very serious violations.
- Mladenov called Hamas disarmament not negotiable and linked any full Israeli pullback to the plan’s next phase, while Hamas has resisted surrendering weapons and Israel still controls more than half of Gaza.
- Humanitarian groups report Israel has expanded control beyond the original yellow line, with a new operational map shared last month showing about 64 percent of the enclave under Israeli control, which Mladenov warned risks hardening into a lasting division.
- U.S. and Board of Peace officials are weighing a fallback to start President Trump’s Gaza plan in areas outside Hamas control, with working groups drawing up proposals that reporters say could be unveiled in early June.
- Mladenov accused Hamas of tightening its grip by taxing residents and blocking approved builders, even as Gaza’s needs mount, and he outlined the plan’s steps that include decommissioning weapons, destroying tunnels, installing a technocratic Palestinian authority, deploying an international force, and phasing Israeli withdrawals.