Hamas is 'principal obstacle' to Gaza ceasefire phase two, Trump initiative report says

Hamas is "the principal obstacle" to moving to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire, the Board of Peace initiative created by US President Donald Trump said in its first report to the UN Security Council.

In its findings, the group, established by Trump in January to oversee the end of fighting in Gaza and its reconstruction following the deadly Israel-Hamas war, criticised repeated ceasefire violations.

"At this stage, the principal obstacle to full implementation remains Hamas' refusal to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and permit a genuine civilian transition in Gaza," a copy of the report seen by the AFP news agency said.

Nickolay Mladenov, the board's high representative for Gaza, will present the report to the UN Security Council on Thursday.

"Institutions, resources and plans are in place to take the next steps," the report said.

"The nature and sequencing of those next steps will be shaped by the decisions the parties make now."

Despite an October ceasefire, Gaza remains gripped by daily violence as Israeli strikes continue, with both the military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce.

Ceasefire "violations continue to occur on a near daily basis, some of which are serious, and their human consequences -- civilians killed, families living in fear, and continued impediments to humanitarian access — cannot be minimised."

Trump's administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated the ceasefire to halt two years of war in the Palestinian territory.

In January, Washington said it was moving into the second phase of the peace plan that calls for the disarmament of Hamas, whose unprecedented 7 October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the massive retaliatory offensive.

It also calls for the gradual retreat of Israeli forces and the deployment of an international stabilisation force.

The first phase of the truce saw the release of the last hostages seized in October 2023, in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

The transition to the second phase, which involves Hamas' disarmament and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, which still controls more than 50% percent of the Strip, has been stalled for weeks, while international attention has been focused on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

The report added that decommissioning of Hamas weapons was "critical for reconstruction to begin, for a timebound Israeli forces withdrawal, and for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood to be pursued."