US says Gaza peace plan offers 'historic opportunity' for Middle East

​​​​​​​By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The US said on Thursday that the Gaza peace plan has created a unique opportunity to transform the enclave's future and advance stability across the Middle East.

"President (Donald) Trump's 20-point plan for peace offers a historic opportunity. His diplomacy brought the ceasefire in Gaza with support from around the world," US envoy Mike Waltz told the UN Security Council.

Saying that the deal "offers hope for the people of Gaza," Waltz said, "It offers hope for the Middle East to turn the page on a millennium of violence, and to usher in a new age of peace and prosperity."

Praising Washington's diplomatic efforts, he said: "Under President Trump's leadership, the US has ended eight conflicts across the globe over the course of just eight months."

While calling the ceasefire "a historic success," Waltz warned that "it cannot be cause for complacency."

"The future of Gaza can be one of peace and prosperity," he said.

Noting that the US is focused on humanitarian and reconstruction priorities in Gaza, he said: "The peace agreement has already resulted in a dramatic increase in the flow of humanitarian aid to the people there."

"We will continue to work to deliver aid to scale and meet Gaza's humanitarian needs, rehabilitating its infrastructure, including its hospitals, its roads, its bakeries, its water, its electricity, its sewage systems," he told the Council.

With the ceasefire plan, he said, "we are closer than ever to realizing the Middle East that generations have dreamt of," claiming that a future built on "peace and prosperity" is within reach.