Director-General and High Representative for Gaza on the U.S.-led Board of Peace, Nickolay Mladenov, said on Monday that his experience over the past eight months shows that “without Egypt and the mediators (Turkey and Qatar), Hamas would not have agreed to the roadmap. The mediators’ contribution was absolutely crucial in this matter.”

During an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Mladenov noted that there would be a “verification mechanism” to ensure all parties adhere to the roadmap, adding that the entire process would be halted if commitments are not fulfilled.

Mladenov acknowledged the risks involved in implementing the plan, emphasizing that “the roadmap’s provisions are based on verification, not trust between the parties, and the only way to implement it is for us all to agree that everything needs verification and that every step must be implemented gradually.”

He further stressed the importance of protecting non-combatants and defining troop boundaries: “What we are asking is that the Israeli army not deploy its forces inside Gaza beyond the yellow line, as stipulated in the Gaza ceasefire agreement.” He added that forces must not fire on civilians and that the yellow line would be adjusted once the disarmament process in Gaza is complete.

Mladenov continued, stating that once weapons have been removed from every location—and their receipt and storage by the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the Peace Committee have been verified—Israel must withdraw gradually, in stages, to the Gaza Strip’s border fence. He emphasized that “the full implementation of the Peace Committee’s plan is the only way forward.”