The Security Council Adopts Resolution Endorsing the United States’ “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict”

The Security Council has adopted a resolution endorsing President Donald J. Trump's "Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict," known as the 20-Point Plan. 1 The United States sought Security Council backing to give the plan international legitimacy and to provide momentum for its implementation.It gained the Council's support without making changes to the plan's content or relinquishing control over its operationalization.For states considering whether to contribute troops to the plan's International Stabilization Force (ISF) or intending to provide financial support for reconstruction, the Council's authorization was essential lest they be regarded as assisting Israel's occupation of Gaza. 2 Approval of a plan drafted without UN input and lacking UN oversight-recognizing an autonomous international territorial administration-reflected Council members' strong desire to end the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 3 Even with the Council's sanction, though, it is uncertain whether the 20-Point Plan can be implemented beyond its initial phase, at least over the entirely of Gaza.The plan's embedded ambiguities paper over challenges that cannot be resolved without further concessions by both Hamas and Israel.The 20-Point Plan came together during negotiations in September 2025 between the United States, Israel, and a coalition of Arab and Muslim-majority states (Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates) in the weeks following Israel's airstrike targeting Hamas senior officials meeting in Doha. 4 The plan comprises three phases.5 The first phase provides for an end to the fighting.It includes: an immediate ceasefire; Hamas's return of all remaining living and dead hostages; Israel's release of 1,950 Palestinian prisoners; the withdrawal of Israeli forces to "an agreed upon line" (the "yellow line"); and the sending of "full aid" into Gaza "without interference from the two parties."6 The second phase calls for an interim government that will maintain security and initiate reconstruction.It involves: governance of Gaza by "a technocratic, apolitical Palestinian committee" overseen by a newly established entity called the Board of Peace 1 See SC Res.2803 (2025) [hereinafter Resolution 2803].The 20 Point-Plan is attached as an annex to Resolution 2803.See id., Annex 1 [hereinafter 20-Point Plan].2 See Farnaz Fassihi, In Major Breakthrough, U.N. Security Council Adopts U.S. Peace Plan for Gaza, N.Y.