US envoy to UN: Announcements 'upcoming' on phase 2 of Gaza plan; letting Hamas survive would be 'insanity'

 US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz says he expects “upcoming” announcements on the advancement of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan in Gaza, stressing that Washington will not allow Hamas to rebuild under the framework, while meeting with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem during the envoy’s visit this week to advance the plan.

In a readout from Herzog’s office, Waltz hails last month’s UN Security Council resolution on the Gaza plan as “probably the most positive resolution we’ve seen for Israel, for stability in the region,” saying “it was [not just] a lot of rhetoric, it puts a clear plan in place.”

He adds that he expects announcements to be made soon on components of the second phase of the plan, including the Board of Peace and the committee of Palestinian technocrats that is being established under the plan to oversee the management of Gaza, and the international force that would patrol the Strip.

“We now have that authorization. I think we will see announcements upcoming in terms of the Board of Peace, led by President Trump. The key components of that are a technocratic authority of Palestinians to get the water, the gas, the sewage, to get those basic services going again in Gaza. Of course, a funding mechanism for the owners to pay for it, and then the international stabilization force,” he says.

“What has been clear, and I want to be clear, is Hamas has to go,” the envoy continues. “President Trump has been clear, that’s going to happen the easy way or the hard way, but there will not be any more Hamas,” he says, adding: “What we’re determined to avoid, is what I call the definition of insanity: somehow Hamas is allowed to survive, they rebuild, the international community pours billions into reconstruction, Hamas attacks again, and Israel has no choice but to respond, and here we are in this cycle of insanity.”

Hosting Waltz at the President’s Residence, Herzog cautions: “We hope that the process will not take too long, because in the Middle East, if you wait for too long, then the vacuum fills in… Iran is trying to regroup, and its proxies are trying to regroup, and we have to show momentum to implement [the] resolution.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated this week that the initial ceasefire phase of the Gaza plan is “almost” complete and that efforts are underway to move to phase two ahead of his meeting with Trump later this month, while noting that Israel still awaits the return of the final deceased hostage in Gaza, Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili.