The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved a US-drafted resolution backing President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, granting the proposal an international mandate after two years of conflict. The resolution passed with 13 votes in favour and no vetoes, while Russia and China abstained.
Under the plan, an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will be deployed to Gaza to oversee demilitarisation, secure key zones, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid. The ISF will work in coordination with Israel and Egypt, and the United States has said several unnamed countries have already expressed willingness to join the force.
However, Hamas swiftly rejected the proposal, arguing that it sidelines Palestinian rights and forces an “external authority” onto Gaza. In a statement issued on Telegram, the group said the US plan “imposes an international guardianship mechanism on the Gaza Strip”, which both its leadership and armed factions oppose. It added that granting the stabilisation force powers to disarm resistance groups strips the mission of neutrality and effectively aligns it with Israel.
According to the draft resolution, the ISF would focus on the permanent decommissioning of weapons held by non-state armed groups, including Hamas, which would be required to surrender its arms under the Trump framework.
The draft further proposes forming a new Palestinian police force, trained to gradually assume policing duties in Gaza, replacing the existing Hamas-run apparatus.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told the Council that the stabilisation force would enable “the demilitarisation of Gaza, dismantling of terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons, and ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians.” He described the ongoing ceasefire initiated on October 10 with a hostage-detainee exchange as a “fragile, fragile first step.”
The peace plan also recommends setting up a Board of Peace, expected to be headed by Trump, along with a World Bank-supported trust fund to finance Gaza’s reconstruction.
Monday’s vote came at a time when global actors are attempting to preserve the tenuous ceasefire that followed Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has resulted in more than 69,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
