Herzog and U.S. Ambassador Waltz Discuss Implementation of UN Gaza Plan

President Isaac Herzog met on Wednesday with U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in a discussion focused on the international framework for Gaza’s future governance. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also took part in the meeting. The talks centered on advancing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2803, which anchors the Trump administration’s new Gaza peace plan. According to the U.S. Mission readout, Herzog and Waltz also reaffirmed their close cooperation at the United Nations and pledged to work together “to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel bias” within the UN system.

UN Security Council Resolution 2803, passed 13–0 last month, formally endorsed President Donald Trump’s Gaza framework. The resolution ultimately enforces a technocratic Palestinian administration to handle essential services in Gaza, establishes an international stabilization force, and prevents Hamas from returning to power in the Strip.

Herzog stressed the need for rapid progress, warning that delays could allow hostile actors to regain momentum. “This is your first official visit here in Israel as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN since taking office,” Herzog told Waltz. “You have a very important role, because you must navigate the implementation of the Security Council resolution, which is nothing less than historic… We hope the process will not take too long, because in the Middle East, if you wait too long, the vacuum fills — and the hostile actors do not rest for a moment. Iran is trying to renew its activities, and we must show progress toward implementing the resolution.” The U.S. Mission confirmed that maintaining “maximum pressure against Iran,” which continues attempting to destabilize the region, was a key topic in the meeting.

He added that Israel appreciates Waltz’s “clear moral clarity,” noting the heavy toll on Israeli families since October 7 and the importance of global recognition of Israel’s role on the front line of defending Western values. Herzog also raised the urgent need to secure the release of the last captive soldier, Ran Gvili, still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Waltz echoed Herzog’s assessment, calling Trump’s initiative “absolutely historic” and emphasizing the rare international alignment behind it. “The UN Security Council approved the plan by a majority of 13–0, with public support from Arab states, Muslim-majority states, and even the Palestinian Authority,” he noted, adding that significant credit belongs to Trump, Secretary Rubio, and special envoys Steve Wítkoff and Jared Kushner.

Waltz outlined the plan’s core components: a technocratic Palestinian body to restore basic functioning in Gaza, a financial mechanism to ensure accountability in reconstruction, and an international stabilization force. He stressed that Hamas “must go,” saying, “This will happen the easy way or the hard way, but the Hamas terrorist organization will no longer exist.”

He concluded that the goal is to break the cycle in which Hamas survives, rebuilds, attacks again, and forces Israel into repeated rounds of conflict, a pattern he said the Trump administration is determined to end.