The US ambassador to the United Nations said the second phase of President Trump’s peace deal will be announced soon, stressing that peace in Gaza cannot be accomplished so long as Hamas exists.
In his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, Ambassador Mike Waltz said the details of the next phase of the cease-fire were being hammered out and will include clear language that Hamas cannot be a part of Gaza’s future.
“What has been clear, and I want to be clear, is Hamas has to go,” Waltz said, according to a readout of their conversation.
“President Trump has been clear that’s going to happen the easy way or the hard way, but there will not be any more Hamas,” he added.
Following last month’s UN Security Council vote to approve Trump’s plan, Waltz said the US and its allies would likely first announce the details of the so-called Board of Peace, led by President Trump, to lead Gaza in the interim.
Other key components that would be included in the “upcoming” announcements would be the formation of a Palestinian technocratic authority to oversee Gaza’s basic services, including water, gas, and sewage maintenance, Waltz added.
There are also ongoing talks on the funding mechanism to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and the implementation of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that would take over policing in the Strip.
Not only would the ISF take over security duties from Hamas, the international army would also be tasked with disarming the terror group if it continues to reject calls for demilitarization.
After starting the devastating war with Israel through the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, Waltz said it was impossible to allow Hamas to remain in Gaza and benefit from the reconstruction.
“What we’re determined to avoid is what I call the definition of insanity: somehow Hamas is allowed to survive, they rebuild, the international community pours billions into reconstruction, Hamas attacks again, and Israel has no choice but to respond, and here we are in this cycle of insanity,” Waltz stressed.
The second phase of the Gaza peace plan remains elusive as Hamas has yet to release the body of the last remaining Israeli hostage, which it claims it cannot find.
Hamas has also signaled its unwillingness to participate in the second phase unless there is a clear commitment to permanent peace and a pathway for Palestinian statehood, a condition Israel has repeatedly rejected.
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