The U.N. Security Council returned its focus to Gaza on Tuesday during an open debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, after months in which other global crises had drawn attention away.

The council had concentrated heavily on Gaza following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, before a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in late 2025 shifted priorities.

“A pivotal juncture has been reached” in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, said Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and a founding executive board member of the Trump-chaired Board of Peace.

The Security Council endorsed the U.S.-backed plan in November, authorizing both the Board of Peace as a transitional body and a multinational stabilization force to support reconstruction and security in the enclave.

Addressing the council, Blair said “the war has stopped,” but ongoing ceasefire violations are a particular concern. He pointed to the establishment of a Palestinian-led administrative body for Gaza and ongoing preparations for the deployment of the international force.

However, the disarmament of Hamas, a key to Trump’s plan, remains a central obstacle.

“If disarmament occurs, the network of restrictions on people and goods entering and leaving Gaza should and will be lifted,” Blair said. “This is a huge prize for the people of Gaza.”

He outlined a vision for the territory that includes a functioning port, freedom of movement, modern infrastructure and housing and expanded access to the digital economy.

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the global body, highlighted what he described as early signs of normalization, citing a mass wedding for 300 couples in Gaza last week, organized by the United Arab Emirates.

“Twenty thousand people—families, community leaders, young Palestinians—all celebrated in Deir al-Balah. For just a moment, we witnessed laughter and joy and relative calm,” Waltz said. “This was no small feat in Gaza—and candidly, without the ceasefire enabled by President Trump, without the Board of Peace, without our regional partners stepping up, it would have been unimaginable.”

Those types of moments can’t become a regular way of life, Waltz said, with Hamas remaining armed.

“They must irreversibly surrender their path of terror, their offensive infrastructure, that they’ve wasted billions and billions of dollars and supplies on,” Waltz said. “They must move away from the tunnels and weapon production facilities, not try to hide them.”

Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, condemned the terrorist group for failing to live up to its pledges to disarm.

“Hamas responded the same way it always does: Rejection, delay, excuses,” Danon told the council. “Israel, meanwhile, is implementing our side of the deal. All major crossings are open. Every day, over six hundred trucks of aid enter Gaza. Since the ceasefire began, we have facilitated the entry of 1.5 million tons of food into Gaza.”

Moscow, which has been the leading voice on the Security Council criticizing American and Israeli actions in the Middle East, claimed on Tuesday that Trump’s peace plan has stalled.

“We see no tangible results from the work” of the Board of Peace, said Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s U.N. ambassador. “Unfortunately, our grim predictions have come to pass. We are witnessing attempts to literally buy out the Palestinians with flashy business projects like ‘New Gaza,’ rather than addressing the complex political issue of establishing an independent Palestinian state.”

Other council members urged urgency. Lewis Garseedah Brown II, Liberia’s ambassador, warned that “the present pause in large-scale violence must not be mistaken for peace.”

“Cement without political courage merely rebuilds future ruins,” he said, calling for time-defined parameters for governance and recovery.

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