US Envoy to UN: Gaza Ceasefire Holds, "Decisive Action" Against Venezuela

US Envoy to UN: Gaza Ceasefire Holds, "Decisive Action" Against Venezuela

US Ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, stated that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is holding, despite the situation remaining fragile. He defended the US-backed peace plan amid ongoing violence in Gaza.

Speaking at the New Economy Forum in Singapore on Friday, Waltz said in an interview, "So far, it's fragile, it's difficult. The ceasefire is holding, hostages have come out alive, and additionally, we are actually receiving bodies week after week."

The UN Security Council on Tuesday approved a resolution supporting US President Trump's Gaza peace plan. Waltz stated that the US argument to the UN was that "everyone can find fault with this plan," but no one wants to return to war.

According to the proposal, troops from several Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia and Azerbaijan, would join an international stabilization force to work with Egypt and Israel to maintain order as the Israel Defense Forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The plan also calls for the establishment of a transitional government under the leadership of a "Peace Committee."

Two days after the UN vote, Israeli forces came under fire, prompting airstrikes that killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This was the second deadliest wave of attacks since the ceasefire went into effect on October 10, which Hamas claims has killed more than 300 Palestinians since then.

Trump's plan requires Hamas to disarm in a subsequent phase and deploy an international stabilization force. The proposal has been rejected by Hamas and several Palestinian factions, although the organization initially accepted the framework agreement that led to the cessation of the two-year war.

In the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released all 20 surviving Israeli hostages and returned most of the other bodies. The organization says it is still holding three bodies due to a lack of equipment to recover them.

"No one said this was going to be easy, but I think we've seen progress worth celebrating," Waltz said.

"Decisive Action" Against Venezuela

Waltz also reiterated that the US will take "decisive action" against Venezuela, accusing Maduro of being the head of an international criminal organization and supporting human, drug, and arms trafficking.

The US plans to designate a Venezuelan drug cartel allegedly led by Maduro as a foreign terrorist organization. This comes after more than two months of attacks on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, resulting in approximately 80 deaths.

Last Sunday, a US strike group led by the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, arrived in the Caribbean, bolstering an already greatly expanded military presence, sparking speculation about a possible broader US attack on Venezuela.

In addition to banning members of the "Cartel de los Soles" from entering the US and allowing the US government to seize the organization's funds, the latest US measures would also criminalize the organization's behavior.

"Last year we had more people die from fentanyl than we lost in the 10 years of the Vietnam War," Waltz said. "This is deliberate. It is state-sponsored, and it is destabilizing not only our country but the entire region."