Trump Hosts First Board of Peace Meeting

President Donald Trump hosted the first Board of Peace meeting on Feb. 19, which aims to put boots on the ground and rebuild the Gaza Strip following a peace negotiation brokered in October with terrorist organization Hamas.

Representatives from more than 40 countries gathered at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington to discuss the situation, with billions of dollars pledged toward rebuilding the war-stricken territory.

The United States committed $10 billion, with a combination of $7 billion added from other nations, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who has been appointed commander of the International Stabilization Force (ISF), announced contributions from Albania, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Morocco for troops on the ground.

The ISF will mainly be responsible for maintaining peace in the area, leading security operations, and ensuring the safe delivery of humanitarian and reconstruction materials.

Jeffers has also been appointed to establish a police force in the area and said that Egypt and Jordan have committed to helping with training.

On Oct. 8, 2025, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had signed the first phase of a peace agreement, concluding two years of conflict.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping more than 250 civilians, to which Israel responded with an offensive on Hamas-controlled Gaza.

More than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict according to a Lancet report published on Feb. 18, based on Hamas-controlled health statistics.

The deal was made alongside Gaza’s administrative committee headed by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Abdel Hamid Shaath.

Phase One of the October 2025 agreement involved a 42-day cease-fire, a partial Israel Defense Forces withdrawal from Gaza, and release of 33 hostages, dead and alive, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

As of Jan. 26, the final deceased hostage had been recovered, marking an end to Phase One.

Phase Two was implemented on Jan. 16 and involves a 20-point roadmap enacted by the Board of Peace to ensure lasting peace and stability throughout the region. The board was officially launched in Davos on Jan. 22.

Under his chairmanship, Trump has appointed to the executive board U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel, former senior advisor to Trump Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, CEO of Apollo Global Management Marc Rowan, and World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.

The UK, along with most other Western European countries, including France, having been the most vocal, have decided not to fully join over concerns that Russia may join and that it would be a competitor to the United Nations, although the UK has mostly been supportive of its goal.

Trump has said the U.N. hasn’t been fulfilling its potential as a body.

“The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly,” Trump said on Feb. 19.

Emel Akan, Jacob Burg, and Ryan Morgan contributed to this report.