Hamas has rejected disarming in Gaza as part of ongoing peace efforts, an official familiar with the negotiations told the BBC on Tuesday.
The official in question accused Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the Board of Peace, of bias towards Israel.
The situation appears to have reached an impasse, as Hamas told mediators that it won't engage in talks about the second phase of the ceasefire deal agreed with Israel last October until Israel fully implements the terms of the first one.
"We are waiting for Mladenov to provide a clear timetable for Israel to fulfil the remaining obligations of phase one, along with guarantees to halt Israeli violations, before any discussion of phase two begins," the official said.
Demands also include the reopening of border crossings, allowing the entry of more aid and commercial goods, restoring electricity, bringing in heavy machinery for rubble removal and restoring hospitals, bakeries and water facilities.
Israel, in turn, said it won't move forward until Hamas takes concrete steps towards disarmament.
The second phase, the outlet noted, would see a permanent end to the war after the demilitarization of the enclave and a full withdrawal from Israel.
Elsewhere in the report, the official said Palestinian factions believe that handing over their weapons must be tied to a comprehensive solution and concrete steps towards self-determination rather than partial agreements, and Israel is unlikely to accept an independent Palestinian state.
Another recent report also cast doubt on the Board of Peace's ability to move forward due to only receiving a fraction of the $17 billion pledged to the initiative, according to a new report.
Reuters noted that only the U.S., Morocco and the UAE have sent funds so far even though ten countries had pledged funds.
A source cited by the outlet claimed that the war in Iran has "affected everything," exacerbating already existing funding issues. Without the funding, a Palestinian technocratic committee that would be tasked with replacing Hamas in the enclave can't enter the strip. They would also face security risks.
Mladenov told Palestinian groups that "no money is currently available" for the effort, according to the outlet. The organization rejected the article, saying: "The Board of Peace is a lean, execution-focused organization that calls capital as needed. There are no funding constraints. To date, all funding requests have been met immediately and in full."
