US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz posted on Friday that he had met with the Board of Peace High Representative Nikolay Mladenov. “He is a key partner in the work to secure Gaza's future, rid Hamas of its weapons, restore basic governance under a Committee of Palestinian technocrats, and build a real foundation for stability in the Middle East,” the US diplomat noted.
Waltz has posted several times about Gaza recently. He posted a video of himself speaking at the UN on X that said: “Remember the Security Council's pledge: Gaza cannot sustainably rebuild while Hamas retains the ability to plunge it back into war. We will be frozen in a cycle of humanitarian aid rather than rebuilding until Hamas disarms and demilitarizes.”
He also noted, “For the first time in modern history, a new future for Gaza without war or terrorist overlords is credibly in reach. To get there, we all must implement the 15-point plan for Hamas to disarm.”
Meanwhile, Mladenov has also been outspoken. He has posted about how the peace process can only move forward after an International Stabilization Force (ISF) is deployed. He says that Hamas also has to adhere to its commitments. Israel also has commitments under what is called the “Sharm el Sheikh Protocol.”
In addition, Hamas has to disarm. Mladenov says this means every category of weapon in Gaza has to be decommissioned. Only after that happens will Israel redeploy or withdraw forces. This is supposed to happen in “phases” that are “performance-based.” Everything has to be verified along the way. He also posted that Hamas and other groups have agreed to hand over their weapons and transfer governance to a new “full governing authority.”
Meanwhile, the IDF continues almost daily strikes in Gaza. Mladenov wrote in early August that “two days of strikes across Gaza have killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies that people depend on. This comes after intense efforts by the Board of Peace and the mediators (Egypt, Turkiye, Qatar and the US) to bring the Palestinian factions in Gaza to agree to a Roadmap on the full implementation of President Trump's plan, to hand over civilian governance and to decommission their weapons.”
He noted that “both parties carry obligations under the Comprehensive Plan and the Sharm El Sheikh deal that secured the release of all hostages.”
It’s not clear what progress has been made in August. The Associated Press reported that Burundi and Uganda had sent personnel to Israel to discuss deploying as part of the ISF. They are the latest to do so, following Albania and Kosovo, which did so several months ago. However, so far, not many troops have actually arrived for the ISF.
Mladenov working hard on securing end to conflict
There is no doubt that people like Mladenov are working hard. He wrote that “my team and I are working around the clock with the parties, the mediators and regional partners to de-escalate and create the space for the full implementation of the President's plan. Achieving a lasting peace is hard but achievable if everyone make their best efforts.”
The Board of Peace has also posted Mladenov’s UN comments. “Gaza’s crisis has never been only a security or humanitarian problem. It has always been a political and governance problem. The National Committee is composed of independent Palestinian professionals. Its purpose is to govern during the transition and restore effective administration,” it noted, quoting the high representative. “This transition will ultimately be judged not by the structures we establish, but by whether Palestinians experience greater security, more reliable services and a measurable improvement in daily life.”
Despite all the statements, it continues to be clear there is a catch-22 in Gaza. No weapons have been decommissioned so far. Hamas has not handed over governance. Hamas continues to control the lives of 2 million people in Gaza. The people have no way to leave the Hamas-controlled area because the rest of Gaza is either controlled by the IDF, or some areas have active armed militias.
There is nowhere for civilians to go if they don’t want to live under Hamas rule. The IDF won’t withdraw at all unless all the weapons of Hamas are collected. Those weapons can’t likely be collected unless the civilians can leave the Hamas area and a new governing authority is established.
The essence of the Gaza peace plan now appears to be a catch-22. This is because it continues to trap 2 million civilians under Hamas rule with no way for them to actually receive the new governance they had been promised under the plan. The lack of deployment of the ISF into Gaza, and the inability to create any zone that is Hamas-free and also open to civilians, means that the plan can’t proceed according to its vision.
The plan has been in place for almost a year. Back in July and August 2025, Israel was involved in operations in Gaza City. At the time, the IDF was re-conquering areas it had taken before. Israeli officials were saying that the IDF would raze them and blow up the high-rise buildings, as had been done in around forty percent of Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands of people had been displaced again, as they had been several times in the war. The hostages were still being held in Gaza. Exasperated by the lack of progress and watching another IDF operation unfold with only tactical goals, the Trump administration moved to pressure numerous states to secure a ceasefire deal.
The US-backed Gaza peace plan emerged in late September 2025 as President Donald Trump unveiled a 20-point framework designed to end the war in Gaza and create a roadmap for long-term stability. The plan was endorsed by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025, following a ceasefire that began in October 2025. The framework sought not only to halt fighting but also to establish a new political, security, and economic order in Gaza under international supervision.
The Gaza plan was good on paper. It had all the ingredients of what needed to happen. Hamas was supposed to be replaced with a new technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), run by Palestinians. There was supposed to be a police force and security for ordinary people. Disarmament was going to happen, and then there would be investment for reconstruction. The Board of Peace would oversee implementation, coordinate donor funding, and verify compliance with the agreement.
Iran war stalled situation in Gaza
This seemed to proceed well into January 2026. However, the Iran war led to the US focusing instead on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. Gaza was largely forgotten, along with the 2 million people living there. With no journalists allowed into Gaza, most of the world could move on and not recall that there were urgent needs for things to move forward. The US-backed CMCC, set up with support of Central Command in Kiryat Gaza, enabled humanitarian aid to flow. Numerous countries joined in the effort.
This, along with a logistics hub being established near the Gaza border to support the ISF, all seemed like good progress. However, the thousands of personnel and troops that were supposed to be part of the ISF did not show up. Instead, only a handful arrived to begin to cautiously examine how the ISF would deploy.
The challenge has always been in the details of implementation. Hamas thrives by controlling the lives of 2 million people trapped under its rule. Without any way for those people to leave the Hamas-run zone, the continued role of the terror organization is guaranteed. It will be difficult or impossible to collect weapons from Hamas so long as it controls 2 million people and can hide among them. The lack of creating a space in Gaza, with the ISF and NCAG, to enable people to move to a non-Hamas zone, means that the plan will face an endless catch-22.
The Trump administration likely knows this. Israel’s upcoming elections also may play into this. Some will argue that Israeli political leaders can’t do anything on Gaza because they have to look “strong” for elections. Therefore, no progress can be made until after elections.
Then, after the elections, the argument may be that no one can do anything on Gaza because the coalition has to be kept together and some small parties may leave the coalition over objections to Gaza policy. Once again, this creates an endless catch-22 that looms over Gaza policy. For the US and others to break this cycle, they will need to provide more than statements about the process for Gaza.