Hamas rejects UNSC proposal for establishment of foreign forces in Gaza

The resolution, passed on Monday, endorses US President Donald Trump's Gaza plan and authorizes the creation of a peacekeeping coalition that would include Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan.

In response, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas rejected the resolution, arguing that it imposes international guardianship, does not address Palestinian rights, and aims to disarm the resistance movements.

Hamas said the resolution does not meet the political and humanitarian demands and rights of the Palestinian people.

The movement stressed that any international force must be deployed only at Gaza’s borders to monitor the ceasefire under UN supervision.

"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 favor of the occupation," the group added.

Russia, which had circulated a rival resolution, abstained along with China on the 13-0 vote.

US Ambassador Mike Waltz said the force will be “a strong coalition of peacekeepers, many from Muslim-majority nations like Indonesia [and] Azerbaijan.”

The force will “deploy under a unified command” and begin its activities “while Israel phases out its presence,” Waltz added.

The United Kingdom said it voted for the resolution to advance the US peace plan for Palestinians and Israelis and stressed the urgent need to deploy the International Stabilization Force.

The international force will be deployed under a unified command to secure Gaza, oversee its demilitarization, and take in aid through safe corridors.

According to the resolution, this process will unfold as Israel phases out its Gaza presence, and a vetted police force assumes new responsibilities.

A transitional administration will also be formed, coordinating reconstruction efforts through a trust fund backed by the World Bank.

It must also operate exclusively in coordination with official Palestinian institutions, with no role for Israel in it.

Washington formally circulated the draft resolution to the 15 Security Council members last week. The text would authorize a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body and an international stabilization force.

Russia, China, and some Arab states oppose the proposal, citing concerns about a yet-to-be-established board temporarily governing the strip and the absence of any transitional role for the Palestinian Authority.

According to four UN diplomats briefed on the matter, China and Russia — two veto-wielding members — have called for the “Board of Peace” under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire plan to be removed from the resolution entirely.

Still, the US mission to the UN urged the Security Council to move ahead with Washington's resolution.

"Attempts to sow discord now – when agreement on this resolution is under active negotiation – has grave, tangible, and entirely avoidable consequences for Palestinians in Gaza," a US mission spokesperson alleged.

The diplomats said that the Americans could decide to go forward unilaterally with a force from willing countries that would not have UN backing.

Hamas and Israel agreed last month to the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire, aimed at ending the latter’s two-year-long genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged territory.

The truce took effect on October 10, but Israel has continued to violate it by carrying out airstrikes, incursions, shootings, and arrests.

The deal marks the first phase of Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, with further stages to be negotiated at a later date.