Trump’s Top Gaza Official Says Israel Is Jeopardizing the Cease-Fire

A senior official for President Trump’s Board of Peace accused the Israeli government on Wednesday of jeopardizing the cease-fire in Gaza and a U.S.-backed plan to disarm Hamas. The official, Nickolay Mladenov, is the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza and has been leading negotiations with Hamas to advance a cease-fire reached with Israel in October. Mr. Mladenov’s comments, delivered in a speech to the United Nations Security Council, are among the board’s most pointed public criticisms of Israel so far, and come after weeks of rising tensions over Israeli strikes in Gaza. “These strikes do not change the status quo that produced 7 October 2023,” Mr. Mladenov said on Wednesday, referring to the Hamas-led attack on Israel that ignited the Gaza war. “They preserve it.” The Board of Peace is an international body set up by the Trump administration to end the war in Gaza and oversee reconstruction efforts. Israel made no immediate public comment in response to Mr. Mladenov’s speech. Late last month, Mr. Trump announced that the Board of Peace had agreed to a deal with Hamas that would see all armed groups in Gaza put down their weapons, calling it a “monumental step toward peace and security.” Within days, however, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the country rejected the plan and soon after ordered renewed strikes in Gaza. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe .