The UN Security Council has voted in favour of a US-drafted resolution, which endorses Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
Included in the plan is the establishment of an International Stabilisation Force (ISF), which the US says multiple unnamed countries have offered to contribute to.
The resolution was backed by 13 countries – including the UK, France and Somalia – with none voting against the proposal. Russia and China abstained.
Hamas has rejected the resolution, saying it fails to meet Palestinians’ rights and demands.
The plan “imposes an international guardianship mechanism on the Gaza Strip, which our people and their factions reject,” the group said on Telegram.
“Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favour of the occupation,” it added.
According to reports on the latest draft, part of the ISF’s role would be to work on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups” – including Hamas – as well as protecting civilians and humanitarian aid routes.
This would require Hamas, proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK, to hand over its weapons – something it is meant to do under Trump’s peace plan.
As well as authorising an ISF, which it says would work with Israel and Egypt – Gaza’s southern neighbour – the draft also calls for creation of a newly trained Palestinian police in Gaza.
Until now, the police there have operated under the authority of Hamas.
Mike Waltz, the US’s ambassador to the UN, told the Council that the ISF would be “tasked with securing the area, supporting the demilitarization of Gaza, dismantling the terrorist infrastructure, removing weapons, and ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians”.
The initial phase of the plan – a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the handing over of hostages and detainees – came into force on 10 October. Waltz described it as a “fragile, fragile first step”.
The ISF is a central plank of Trump’s plan which also includes establishing a so-called Board of Peace, which the US president himself is expected to head.
Financing for reconstruction of Gaza following two years of war would come from a trust fund backed by the World Bank, according to the resolution.
The draft also raises the possibility of a Palestinian state – something Israel strongly opposes. A path to future statehood was included following pressure from key Arab states.
Trump’s peace plan in effect suspended the fighting between Israel and Hamas which had raged since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in that attack.
More than 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
