In an interview with Al Jazeera, Nicolay Mladenov says that a return to war would be ‘devastating’.

The failure of both sides to adhere to the roadmap for peace “threatens a collapse of the ceasefire in Gaza”, Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative for the Board of Peace, has warned in an interview with Al Jazeera.

There is “no better alternative to the current plan”, Mladenov said on Thursday, adding that the “return to war would be devastating”.

His warning was “directed at both the Palestinian and Israeli sides”, he said, at a time when the besieged Strip is witnessing continued Israeli raids and attacks.

Mladenov stressed that any retreat from the commitments of the roadmap will negatively affect overall security and humanitarian arrangements in Palestine, which may return the region to a spiral of violence with dire consequences.

The Board of Peace has “determined the mechanism for deploying the International Stabilization Force [ISF] and its deployment locations in the Gaza Strip,” he said, noting that Morocco agreed to take part, though Turkiye will not participate after Israel vetoed Ankara’s involvement.

He added that the force’s “advance elements should arrive in the Gaza Strip soon”.

On reconstruction, Mladenov told Al Jazeera that the Board has received pledges worth $7bn, while crediting Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye with playing “an important role” in advancing the agreement with Hamas.

He noted talks with Israel on increasing humanitarian aid are “good”, while expressing hope that a Palestinian national committee would “assume its responsibilities in the Gaza Strip soon”.

The National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is a proposed technocratic, non-factional authority tasked with running day-to-day civil affairs. It is designed to manage public services and coordinate local reconstruction independently of Hamas and other political factions.

Where the roadmap stands

Mladenov first proposed a 15-point roadmap on May 21, covering reconstruction, disarmament of Palestinian armed groups, an Israeli gradual withdrawal, and the ISF’s mandate, alongside restructuring Gaza’s police.

The Board of Peace announced on July 31 that it had reached an agreement on the roadmap for the ceasefire’s next phase. Hamas said it had approved it and called on Israel to be held to its implementation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently rejected the plan, denying reports that his government had agreed to allow the international troops into Gaza at all. This leaves the roadmap’s status publicly contested even as the US and the Board of Peace said it’s the only viable path forward.

On the ground, Israel’s violations of the ceasefire have continued unabated. Since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025, 1,303 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, and 4,336 more were wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The overall toll from Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since October 2023 stands at 73,438 killed and 174,447 wounded, the ministry said.

The diplomatic track

Mladenov’s warning also comes amid renewed, if uncertain, diplomatic movement.

In recent weeks, Hamas’s political chief Khalil al-Hayya held talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, before a visit to the region by US envoy Jared Kushner aimed at narrowing the gap between Israel and the Board of Peace’s plan.

The trip followed Netanyahu’s public rejection of the roadmap, with a US official saying Washington and Israel remain aligned on “the strategic goal” but that Israel has expressed “doubts” requiring further coordination.

Analysts say the roadmap’s political viability still hinges on securing genuine Israeli buy-in, which has remained unresolved despite Hamas’s stated approval and months of mediation efforts.