November 23, 2025: UN Security Council Backs Trump’s Peace Plan; Israel Strikes Gaza and Lebanon

This week, violence escalated in Gaza as Israel ramped up strikes on the territory in response to what it claimed were Hamas violations of the ceasefire deal. Ever since Israel and Hamas agreed to the deal negotiated by Donald Trump in October, tensions have simmered between the two parties. Israel has continuously launched strikes into Gaza, targeting areas both within the Yellow Line (the boundary that demarcates Israeli-controlled areas) and outside it, resulting in the killing of more than 300 Gazans, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has on multiple occasions accused Hamas of firing on IDF soldiers and of delaying the return of deceased Israeli hostages.

On Wednesday, Israeli troops came under fire in Khan Younis. Israel blamed the shooting on Hamas, which denied the allegations. Soon after, Israel launched a series of strikes into Gaza, killing 33 Palestinians across Khan Younis and Gaza City. Four of the airstrikes targeted tents sheltering displaced Gazans, for whom it feels like the war never ended.

A similar scenario played out on Saturday, when Israeli strikes killed another 22 Palestinians in areas across northern and central Gaza. Israel claimed that five senior Hamas members were among the dead, and justified the strikes as a response to an “armed terrorist” who crossed the Yellow Line and fired at IDF soldiers, which Hamas again denied.

Despite the ongoing escalations, the Trump administration is pushing forward with the ceasefire plan. At the beginning of the week, on Monday, the UN Security Council passed a US-drafted resolution regarding the next stages of the ceasefire. The resolution was adopted b a vote of 13–0, with two abstentions by Russia and China. It established the “Board of Peace” as a multinational entity to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, as well as the creation of a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. It is reported that UN backing will allow countries to join the force. However, the logistics of the draft’s implementation are quite vague. The draft references the disarmament of Hamas, yet it is unclear how Hamas will be made to hand over its weapons. Likewise, timelines are not provided for when the Palestinian Authority will assume the role of the international force and for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Gaza is not the only territory whose future is uncertain. Israeli strikes on Lebanon have also continued into this week. Israel and Hezbollah are officially operating under a ceasefire negotiated by the US last year. However, tensions between the two parties have risen recently. Today, Israel struck Beirut for the first time in months, killing five people, including a Hezbollah member, and injuring 28 others. Israel has been accusing Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild its military capabilities, using this claim as the justification for its military action. The Lebanese government has vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which has conditioned discussions about its weapons on Israel stopping its attacks, withdrawing from Lebanon, and releasing Lebanese prisoners.

Despite ongoing talk of peace among the international community, spearheaded by the Trump administration, the reality in both Gaza and Lebanon appears increasingly unstable. Nonetheless, civilians on the ground have no choice but to continue hoping for an end to the violence.