Trump’s Board of Peace wins $7B pledges and troop commitments for Gaza

Trump announced nine members pledged $7 billion for Gaza relief and five countries agreed to send troops for a stabilization force.

The pledged $7 billion is a small fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild Gaza after two years of war.

Trump announced a $10 billion U.S. pledge but did not specify how it would be used or where the money would come from.

Critics fear Trump’s Board of Peace could become a rival to the U.N.; Trump says it will instead help make the U.N. ‘much stronger.’

At the inaugural meeting... Trump spoke of billions of dollars pledged to rebuild the Gaza Strip and a “new and harmonious” Middle East.

There was no sign of such optimism in Gaza, where Palestinians in displacement camps or rubble hold out little hope for change.

Trump announced that member countries... had pledged $7 billion for reconstruction and would send thousands of troops to an International Stabilization Force.

“Since the beginning of the war, we’ve been hearing about conferences and meetings... They say there’s a solution and peace, but it’s all a joke.”

The Palestinian territory ... has been decimated after more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war.

Hamas spokesperson... said any international force must ‘monitor the ceasefire and prevent the [Israeli] occupation from continuing its aggression.’

Palestinians don’t want to see the Board of Peace as another international body that falls into the category of crisis management.

The board has faced criticism for including Israeli representatives but not Palestinians.

Trump is pitching the board as the next phase of his 20-point peace plan and a mechanism to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, devastated by Israel’s genocidal war.

The organisation’s charter does not mention Gaza once, instead outlining a sweeping mandate that appears to challenge existing diplomatic frameworks.

Netanyahu’s participation, despite the ICC warrant over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, is likely to intensify concerns about the board’s objectivity.

Fears that the BoP could hollow out the UN are well founded… you can drain attention, drain money and move big calls to ad hoc bodies chaired by major powers.

“I’ve heard about money being collected for Gaza, but we see nothing. This has happened many times, but nothing ever changes.”'

The war is described as a “genocidal war” that has killed more than 72,000 people, with Israeli bombardment blamed for Gaza’s destruction.

Al-Ghoul calls the Board of Peace “a luxury club” where most money goes to salaries and administration, not to Gaza.

“They won’t do anything for Gaza. It’s all lies… Trump, together with Israel, wants to use the Board of Peace to impose their decisions.”

The Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza, sprawling more than 350 acres, according to Board of Peace contracting records.

The Board of Peace is chaired by Donald Trump and led in part by his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

“The Board of Peace is a kind of legal fiction… in reality it’s just an empty shell for the United States to use as it sees fit,” said Adil Haque.

Diana Buttu… called building a military base on Palestinian land without the government’s approval an act of occupation. “Whose permission did they get…?”

Israel’s war in Gaza has created a “human-made abyss”, and reconstruction is likely to cost more than $70bn over several decades, the UN has said.

Israel’s military operations had “significantly undermined every pillar of survival” and the entire population faced “extreme, multidimensional impoverishment”.

Gaza’s economy had contracted by 87% over 2023-2024, leaving GDP per capita at just $161, among the lowest globally.

The two-year war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted 251; more than 69,000 Palestinians were killed in the ensuing offensive.

The Board of Peace met for the first time in Washington on Thursday, bringing together officials from nearly 50 countries.

President Donald Trump opened the meeting, announcing that nine board members pledged a combined $7 billion toward relief in war-battered Gaza Strip.

Twenty-seven of the countries have joined the board. The other participating countries — as well as the European Union — came as observers.

Here’s a look at which countries attended the meeting. Members of the Board of Peace — Albania — Argentina — Armenia — Azerbaijan...

Senior political and security figures in Israel are expressing skepticism over Trump’s vision for Gaza, even as details point to an ambitious effort to link reconstruction to the full disarmament of Hamas.

Gabay said reconstruction funds would not be released unless Hamas fully disarms: “Not a single dollar can be transferred… unless Hamas lays down its weapons.”

Organizers said $6.5 billion has already been pledged, with Trump announcing that the United States would contribute an additional $10 billion.

Central to the plan is a proposal for Hamas to surrender its weapons in stages… officials said they expect a decision from Hamas in March, with disarmament potentially beginning in April.

A detailed reconstruction plan for Gaza was presented to members of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace by Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.

“The Gaza coastline is 26 miles long. It can be developed as a new Mediterranean Riviera with 200 hotels and potential islands.”

Gabay said funding for the project had been secured and would be invested in what he described as a “free economy” and is subject to “full disarmament of Hamas.”

Founded in January 2026, the Gaza Executive Board said it has begun operations but has so far been barred from entering Gaza by Israel.