The U.N. Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution outlining the future of Gaza, marking the most far-reaching international intervention in the territory since the Hamas massacre of Oct. 7, 2023. The resolution passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining but choosing not to veto—a decision that allowed Washington’s plan to move forward unchallenged.

“We stand at a crossroads. Today, we have the power to douse the flames and light a path to peace,” said Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, immediately before the vote.

The resolution formally authorizes the creation of an international stabilization force in Gaza, to be organized and implemented by the United States and partner nations. It also establishes what President Donald Trump has termed a “Board of Peace,” a transitional governing authority that he will lead. The measure lays out parameters for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza while permitting Israeli forces to remain in limited and defined areas to prevent renewed terror activity.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon praised the emphasis on Hamas disarmament, saying, “The demilitarization of Hamas is a basic condition of the peace agreement. There will be no future in Gaza as long as Hamas possesses weapons.”

Even with the resolution’s passage, there is still no clarity on which entity—the stabilization force, Israel, or another actor—would be responsible for forcibly disarming Hamas if it refuses to disarm voluntarily.

Waltz described Gaza during the Security Council session as “a crucible of conflict, a hell on earth where Hamas’s brutality and terror met Israel’s fierce response.” He noted that a fragile ceasefire is currently holding. “This plan has already silenced the guns and freed the hostages in this fragile first step,” he said. “The remaining hostages must come home.”

The resolution also says that “conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” but only after the Palestinian Authority enacts reforms and after significant progress is made on the reconstruction of Gaza. Israeli officials have strongly objected to the statehood language, which was added only to the final U.S. version of the text.

Waltz emphasized the level of international support backing the plan, saying more than a dozen European heads of state, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and a broad coalition of Arab states aligned with Trump had endorsed it. “With this kind of support, if the region most affected—the Arab nations, the Muslim-majority nations, the Palestinians and the Israelis—can accept this resolution, how could anyone be against it?” he asked the council. “Are you more righteous in this cause than those who must live with it and will ultimately benefit from this plan for peace?”

Russia, which has repeatedly warned against allowing Washington to dominate decisions on Gaza’s future, expressed concern that the resolution effectively places the territory under U.S. direction. Moscow circulated an alternative version that would have transferred responsibility to U.N. leadership. Despite these objections, Russia ultimately abstained, as did China, enabling the U.S. measure to pass.

Waltz previewed the vote on Sunday at the Tikvah 2025 Jewish Leadership Conference in New York, calling the coming moment potentially historic. He highlighted that Arab and Muslim-majority states—including those that have not traditionally aligned with Washington—were prepared to support the resolution. He told attendees, “This will be the best resolution that I think the United States and Israel has seen in the 80-year history of the United Nations.”

He said the fundamental choice was between Hamas control or prolonged Israeli military presence in Gaza. Keeping the IDF there indefinitely, Waltz argued, would jeopardize the expansion of the Abraham Accords, “the number one objective of this administration.” Monday’s vote, he said, offered a different path. “Tomorrow could truly, truly be a historic day.”

With the resolution now adopted, the responsibility shifts to Washington, its partners, and regional stakeholders to implement a plan that could fundamentally reshape the future of Gaza and alter the trajectory of Middle East diplomacy. Whether the stabilization force can be deployed effectively—and whether Hamas can be demilitarized—will determine whether this moment becomes a historic breakthrough or the beginning of another protracted international struggle.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)