Waltz Hails Night-and-Day Middle East Shift as Trump's Gaza Plan Reshapes Region
Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, has returned from a Middle East swing, praising progress on Trump's Israel–Gaza peace plan and describing the situation as night-and-day compared with a year ago. His trip covered the Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian borders and Jordan to Israel, during which he met with Jordan's king, the prime minister and the president of Israel, and U.S. troops stationed in the region.
There is a small U.S. troop presence in Israel of about 100 personnel to aid humanitarian efforts and military coordination; these troops are not deployed in Gaza. U.S. air-defense assets in Israel have been complemented by a small headquarters element to coordinate efforts with the UN, NGOs, Israelis, Egyptians, Arab states, and Palestinians to ensure aid delivery.
The peace plan envisions Gaza becoming a de-radicalized, terror-free zone with an Israeli withdrawal and a temporary technocratic Palestinian governing body overseen by a new International Board of Peace chaired by Trump and other world leaders. An International Stabilization Force, including troops from countries such as Indonesia and Azerbaijan, would operate under the Board of Peace. The plan is framed as international law via a UN resolution.
Central to the plan is the removal of Hamas; authorities aim to prevent a replay of past cycles where aid flows while Hamas remained a threat. Waltz believes the implementation of the plan could unlock a new phase of the Abraham Accords, with next strategic steps extending the accords as conversations continue.
The UN ambassador characterized this development as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for peace and emphasized the importance of burden-sharing and international leadership under Trump.
