An “internationally funded buyback” program will be included as part of the effort to demilitarize the Gaza Strip, Washington’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday.
Mike Waltz was addressing the U.N. Security Council as part of its quarterly debate on the Israeli-Palestinian file. Discussions lasted all day Wednesday and will continue into Thursday.
“Hamas must not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly or indirectly, in any form, period,” said Waltz. “All military terror and offensive infrastructure, including tunnels and weapon production facilities, will be destroyed and not rebuilt.”
He added that international monitors will oversee the demilitarization process, including “placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning and supported by an internationally funded buyback and reintegration program.”
Hamas still holds a little less than half of Gazan territory, and has refused disarmament, despite threats from U.S. President Donald Trump that it will be destroyed if it refuses to yield.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that Israel will not allow Gaza reconstruction to begin while Hamas is armed, and that Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave is tied to Hamas’s disarmament, per the terms of the October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas brokered by Trump.
Waltz said the 26 members of Trump’s new Board of Peace, along with Washington, will apply pressure on Hamas, and the United States has previously suggested an amnesty program for terrorists who give up their weapons.
60,000 assault rifles
Danny Danon, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, told the council on Wednesday that the group is still very much a danger.
“It still holds thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles, and tens of thousands of Kalashnikov rifles. In total, Hamas still holds roughly 60,000 assault rifles,” said Danon. “These weapons are used not only against Israel but against Gazans who oppose Hamas rule.”
As part of the Board of Peace’s structure, which was approved through Security Council Resolution 2803, an International Stabilization Force (ISF) is set to serve as an interim peacekeeping mechanism during a transitional phase. No countries have publicly stated their willingness to join, with some, publicly and privately, stating they are not willing to put their troops in harm’s way while Hamas retains its abilities.
“We salute and thank our friends who have agreed to contribute to the International Stabilization Force,” Waltz said, without naming any countries. “The ISF will begin to establish control and stability, so that the Israeli Defense Forces can withdraw from Gaza based on standards, milestones and time frames linked to demilitarization.”
Those parameters, Waltz said, would be determined jointly by the Israel Defense Forces and ISF, along with the United States, Egypt and Qatar, which helped broker the ceasefire.
Danon hailed the return to Israel this week of the last remaining hostage in Gaza. Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who was killed fighting terrorists during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, and his body was taken to the Strip. It was located by Israeli forces in Gaza following intense searches in recent weeks.
“The peace framework advanced by President Donald Trump and his administration created a path forward. Today, for the first time in 843 days, I sit in this chamber without the yellow hostage pin on my lapel,” Danon told the council. “This is a moment of deep national significance for Israel. It also carries a message far beyond Israel.”
That message, he said, is that “Western liberal democracies do not cave to terrorists. They do not reward mass murder. They do not trade their values for silence.”
Danon said he wanted to be clear about what Hamas’s disarmament entails.
“Disarmament does not mean staged handovers for cameras. It does not mean weapons hidden underground while promises are made above ground. There is no disarmament until Hamas’s military infrastructure is dismantled,” said Danon, adding that weapons, command structures and terror tunnels all need to go.
