U.S. President says member states fund relief plan as ceasefire enters critical phase
Donald Trump has announced that members of his newly formed Board of Peace have pledged more than $7bn (£5.2bn) towards a Gaza relief package, as debate intensifies over the future governance and reconstruction of the territory.
The US president made the declaration at the organisation’s first official meeting in Washington. The board, created last month, has drawn controversy after several key Western allies declined to participate. Countries including the UK, Canada, France, and Germany have stayed out, amid concerns the body could sideline the United Nations in efforts to address the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Trump sought to reassure critics during the meeting, stating that the US would work closely with the UN. “We’re going to be working with the United Nations very closely; we’re going to bring them back,” he said.
According to Trump, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekista,n and Kuwait have collectively contributed more than $7bn towards the relief effort. He described the funding as an “investment in stability”.
He added that the UN would provide $2bn in humanitarian assistance, while Fifa would raise $75m for football-related initiatives in Gaza.
The financial pledges come as the second phase of a US-brokered ceasefire plan unfolds. That phase includes the reconstruction of Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas. Trump told participants it “looks like” Hamas would disarm, although there are few signs that the group is prepared to do so. Residents in Gaza have reported that Hamas continues to extend its control across the Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the issue as the Board of Peace convened. He stated that Israel had agreed with the US that “there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarisation of Gaza”.
The current conflict began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza has resulted in more than 72,000 deaths, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The UN estimates that the damage to buildings and infrastructure amounts to $70bn, leaving the territory’s economy in ruins.
A central element of the US plan involves establishing a new Palestinian police force. Nickolay Mladenov, appointed as high representative for Gaza under the board, said recruitment had already begun, with 2,000 applicants in the first few hours.
However, both Israel and the US have insisted that the new force must not draw directly from Hamas-controlled police without strict vetting. Nor do they want it simply composed of Palestinian Authority security forces from the West Bank. That means building a new structure from the ground up.
Under the proposal, the new police force would operate alongside an International Stabilisation Force, working with Israel and Egypt to secure border areas and oversee the disarmament of non-state armed groups, including Hamas. Mladenov acknowledged there is little evidence such a force could currently supervise the disarmament process.
Hamas has publicly linked any surrender of weapons to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Without progress on this issue, reconstruction and governance plans face significant obstacles.
Mladenov has warned that failure to move quickly could leave Gaza divided, partly under Israeli occupation and partly under Hamas control, further separating it from the West Bank and undermining prospects for a viable independent Palestinian state.
Trump has defended his approach as “new thinking” aimed at breaking the longstanding deadlock. Yet the board’s unconventional structure and the absence of several Western allies underscore the political complexity surrounding Gaza’s future.