Daijiworld Media Network - Jerusalem
Jerusalem, Aug 4: The Board of Peace official overseeing Gaza's postwar transition held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, focusing on the implementation of a new disarmament agreement reached with Hamas and efforts to advance the ceasefire process.
According to a statement issued by the Board of Peace, High Representative for Gaza Nikolay Mladenov held "constructive and detailed" discussions with Netanyahu and his team.
"The goal is clear and is not in question: the complete decommissioning of weapons in the Strip and the transition away from rule by the gun to civilian governance," the statement said.
According to two people familiar with the meeting, Mladenov also urged Netanyahu to halt Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip. He and his team, including senior adviser Aryeh Lightstone, are pressing Israel to suspend attacks as efforts continue to implement the agreement aimed at decommissioning Hamas' weapons.
US President Donald Trump announced the agreement late on Thursday as part of a broader ceasefire deal reached last year. The accord calls for Israel to end its military operations in Gaza while Hamas and its allied groups cease all militant activities. It also outlines the broad framework for the decommissioning of weapons held by Hamas.
Following the release of the agreement, Israel said it had "serious security concerns" and had conveyed them to the United States.
Israeli forces intensified strikes in Gaza after the announcement, with local health officials reporting that 17 people were killed in overnight attacks between Saturday and Sunday. No airstrikes were reported in Gaza on Monday.
According to available figures, Israeli attacks have killed 1,250 people since the ceasefire agreement was reached in October, ending the large-scale fighting in a war that lasted two years.
The conflict began after Hamas-led militants launched an attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Since then, Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 73,375 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry's figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but they are generally regarded as reliable by the United Nations and other international organisations.