The Confrontation to Come: Disarmament Mandate Sets the Stage

The adoption of the new UN resolution on Gaza has set the stage not for immediate peace, but for a new and potentially violent confrontation. By mandating the “International Stabilization Force” to decommission weapons and destroy military infrastructure, the US-drafted plan has drawn a line in the sand that Hamas has already crossed. The group’s vow on Monday that it “will not disarm” and its rejection of “international guardianship” guarantee that any attempt to implement the resolution will be met with armed resistance. The UN has effectively authorized a mission that requires fighting the very people it aims to stabilize.
The resolution, based on Trump’s 20-point plan, was intended to be a comprehensive solution. It included a “pathway to statehood” to soften the blow of disarmament. But with Israel rejecting the statehood clause, the “softener” is gone. What remains is the hard edge of the resolution: a foreign force coming to take Hamas’s weapons. Without the political incentive of statehood, Hamas has no reason to comply and every reason to fight, framing the conflict as a defense of Palestinian rights against foreign aggression.
Ambassador Mike Waltz praised the resolution as the way to “dismantle Hamas’ grip.” This language itself implies a struggle. You do not dismantle a grip without force. The US is evidently prepared for this confrontation, viewing it as a necessary hurdle to reach the “prosperous and secure” Gaza they envision. President Trump’s “Board of Peace” waits on the other side of this confrontation, but the path there leads through the tunnels and alleys where Hamas is dug in.
The international community is bracing for the fallout. Russia and China abstained from the vote, refusing to endorse a plan that could lead to a new war. Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya’s warning about ceding “complete control” to the US is a way of saying, “This is your war, not ours.” By abstaining, they have absolved themselves of responsibility for the confrontation to come.
The resolution has created a legal mandate for disarmament, but it has not created the conditions for it. It has set a timeline for a clash between an international force and a militant group, with the Israeli military watching from the perimeter and the civilian population caught in the middle. The stage is set, the actors have their lines (“will not disarm”), and the curtain has risen on a perilous new act in the Gaza tragedy.