Bloomberg: US envoy says Gaza ceasefire “fragile but holding”

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is holding despite ongoing violence and a highly fragile situation on the ground, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on November 21 as Washington continued defending a US-backed peace plan for Gaza.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Waltz said the truce remained under strain but continued to function, Caliber.Az reports. 

“So far, it’s fragile, it’s difficult,” he said. “The ceasefire is holding and hostages walked out alive and on top of that, we’re receiving the remains, literally week by week.”

The UN Security Council on November 18 endorsed President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative. Waltz said the US had argued before the council that “everyone can find flaws in this plan,” but insisted that no party wanted a return to full-scale war.

The proposal envisions the deployment of an International Stabilization Force composed of troops from several Muslim-majority nations working alongside Egypt and Israel as the Israel Defence Forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. It also calls for the formation of a transitional administration under a “Board of Peace.”

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes two days after the UN vote killed at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza following fire on Israeli forces. Hamas said more than 300 Palestinians have been killed since the October 10 truce began, making the strikes the second-deadliest wave since the pause took effect.

Trump’s peace plan includes a later-stage requirement for Hamas to disarm and for the international stabilisation force to expand its role. The proposal has been rejected by Hamas and several Palestinian factions, though Hamas initially accepted the framework that produced the temporary halt in fighting.

Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released all 20 surviving Israeli hostages and returned most of the bodies of those killed. The group says it retains three bodies, citing a lack of equipment to recover them.

“No one said this was going to be easy, but I think we’ve seen progress that should be celebrated,” Waltz said.

By Sabina Mammadli