US Ambassador Michael Waltz sharply challenged criticism of the American-backed Gaza strategy at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, accusing humanitarian advocates of ignoring Hamas’ conduct and declaring that while Gaza civilians face serious hardship, the terror group’s fighters and leaders are not going hungry.
The heated exchange came during an open Security Council briefing on “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question,” where officials presented starkly different assessments of Gaza’s humanitarian conditions and the emerging plan for the territory’s future. Speakers included Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov, Acting Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov and Association of International Development Agencies Executive Director Athena Rayburn.
Mladenov told council members that an agreement under which Hamas and other armed organizations would surrender their weapons and relinquish control of Gaza marks a development without precedent during the conflict.
“Indeed, it is a historic breakthrough. For the first time, Hamas and the armed factions in Gaza have agreed to hand over their weapons and to transfer full governing authority, civilian and security, to a transitional administration recognized by the United Nations,” Mladenov said.
“We now have the opportunity to dramatically improve life in a sustainable way for Palestinians in Gaza; to provide durable security for Israelis; and to move from a conflict that has destabilized the region to an environment that offers peace, prosperity and economic opportunity for the entire Middle East,” he added.
Mladenov emphasized that the newly formulated Roadmap is intended to work alongside, rather than supersede, the Comprehensive Plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803, adopted in 2025.
“There is no grey zone and no category left out,” he said.
According to Mladenov, the Roadmap introduces three elements absent from previous efforts over the past two decades. Most significantly, Hamas has accepted the requirement that it completely demilitarize and relinquish its governing authority in Gaza.
The framework also embraces the principle of “One Authority, One Law, One Weapon,” while establishing that “Progress is performance-based, not calendar-based,” requiring each stage of the process to be completed and certified before the next can begin.
“What has been agreed on paper will matter only if it is translated into verified action,” Mladenov stressed.
Responding to critics who have questioned whether the Roadmap can succeed, Mladenov argued that no viable alternative has been presented.
“I have yet to hear an alternative plan. Yet, I see only two choices.”
He said the alternatives would be either a renewed Israeli occupation of Gaza, forcing Israel to administer a population of roughly two million at enormous human, financial and reputational expense, or a restoration of the pre-Oct. 7, 2023 arrangement, under which Hamas remains armed and in power while Israel periodically uses military force to contain it.
“What remains is a choice. A Gaza disarmed, rebuilt and reconnected to the world. Or a Gaza rearmed, divided and in rubble, with a radicalized generation raised inside it and the next war already on the horizon,” he said.
“The responsible choice is clear.”
Rayburn offered a far more critical assessment, arguing that despite increases in humanitarian assistance, conditions for Gaza residents remain dire and that the Board of Peace has failed to provide an adequate response.
“Yes, the latest IPC figures show we have clawed our way back from an engineered famine in Gaza, but it is a disturbing marker of ‘progress’ to celebrate that a child that may no longer be at imminent risk of starving to death may still be killed at any moment from shelling, air strikes or gunfire, or may survive only to carry the consequences of hunger, devastation and deprivation for the rest of their life,” she said.
Rayburn argued that Gaza requires consistent humanitarian access, restoration of essential services and a meaningful recovery effort, along with “the creation of conditions in which people in Gaza can begin to live rather than just survive the next 24 hours.”
“By these basic measures, the Board of Peace is failing,” she said.
She called on Security Council members to travel to Gaza themselves to examine conditions firsthand.
“Let the reality on the ground, the facts, our colleagues and Palestinians speak to you themselves. We are here, and we are ready to receive you,” she said.
Waltz fired back at Rayburn’s presentation, saying it conspicuously omitted Hamas’ responsibility for conditions inside Gaza and made no mention of the terror organization’s violent treatment of Palestinians who challenge its authority.
“Not a word from Ms. Rayburn, the civil society briefing, on the knee-capping of Palestinians who recently dared to step out and protest Hamas’s rule,” Waltz said.
While acknowledging that Gaza still faces substantial humanitarian challenges, Waltz argued that improvements in food supplies and access to assistance show that increased aid is reaching civilians and having an impact.
Waltz cited UNICEF in accusing Hamas of stockpiling humanitarian assistance and exploiting aid as a tool for maintaining control over Gaza’s population.
He then contrasted reports of civilian hunger with the apparent condition of Hamas commanders, fighters and their families.
“You know who is not starving in Gaza?” he said. “Hamas fighters aren’t starving. You don’t see their leadership starving. You don’t see their wives who are carrying Birkin bags on camera; they’re not starving.”
The United States also defended Resolution 2803 and President Donald Trump’s comprehensive Gaza plan, arguing that the framework offers a path that avoids both continued Hamas control and an indefinite Israeli occupation of the territory.
Waltz pointed out that Hamas has now committed twice to disarming, stressing that meaningful reconstruction and an eventual Israeli withdrawal cannot proceed unless the terror organization actually gives up its military capabilities.
“Gaza cannot sustainably rebuild while Hamas retains the ability to plunge it back into war,” he said.
Alakbarov, meanwhile, warned that despite ongoing discussions surrounding implementation of Resolution 2803 and the broader Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, the existing ceasefire remains precarious.
“As talks continue on the implementation of Resolution 2803 (2025) and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, the ceasefire remains fragile,” he said.
He said Israeli military operations were continuing in Gaza while conditions in Judea and Samaria “continues to rapidly deteriorate.”
Alakbarov said complete implementation of the 15-point Roadmap would establish transitional arrangements encompassing the disarmament of Hamas and all other armed organizations, an IDF withdrawal from Gaza, deployment of an International Stabilization Force and the eventual transfer of temporary governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.
“I urge all parties to build on this momentum, fulfil their commitments and advance the Roadmap in accordance with international law,” Alakbarov said.
Addressing the humanitarian situation, Alakbarov warned that despair among Gaza residents was deepening.
“They are losing hope,” he said.
He said Israeli airstrikes resumed on Aug. 12 following a one-week pause, while artillery fire, drone strikes and ground operations also continued. Citing figures supplied by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, he said more than 100 Palestinians had been killed and over 400 wounded during the period covered by his report.
Alakbarov further said approximately two-thirds of Gaza remains either inaccessible or subject to significant restrictions, while the 2026 humanitarian Flash Appeal has received only 40% of the funding being sought.
“More than 10 months into the ceasefire, this situation is unacceptable,” Alakbarov said, adding that “human dignity must be at the centre of all efforts.”
Turning to Judea and Samaria, Alakbarov accused Israelis of continuing to carry out large-scale attacks against Palestinians “with virtually no accountability for these crimes.”
He also criticized Israel over plans for housing construction in the E1 area east of Yerushalayim and over Israeli authorities’ entry into a UNRWA compound in the Kafr Aqab neighborhood of Yerushalayim.
“I reiterate my call on Israel to act in accordance with its obligations under international law. All efforts to seize, control or expropriate UNRWA facilities must cease,” he said.
French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont also criticized Israel during the meeting, condemning recent comments attributed to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as well as Israeli community expansion and violence involving Israelis and Palestinian Arabs.
“The restoration of decent living conditions cannot be subordinated to the finalization of the disarmament process,” Bonnafont said.
“It is important that Hamas disarm,” he added. “It is important for the Israeli army to withdraw.”
France additionally condemned restrictions on humanitarian assistance entering Gaza and what it described as continuing daily violations of the ceasefire.
{Matzav.com}
