Washington: US President Donald Trump will preside over the first meeting of his newly formed Board of Peace on Thursday, with key questions surrounding Gaza’s future expected to dominate discussions.
The event, to be held at the United States Institute of Peace — recently renamed by Trump as the “Donald J. Trump US Institute of Peace” — is expected to draw representatives from more than 45 nations.
Major unresolved issues include the disarmament of Hamas, the scale of the reconstruction fund, and the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s war-affected population. Trump is expected to announce that participating nations have pledged $5 billion as an initial contribution toward reconstruction. According to US officials, this includes $1.2 billion each from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, both key Gulf allies of Washington.
The $5 billion is seen as a down payment on a much larger fund that will likely require several additional billions to rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure following two years of conflict.
The Board of Peace has drawn criticism, particularly for including Israel but not Palestinian representatives. Trump’s suggestion that the board could expand its mandate beyond Gaza has raised concerns among some diplomats that it may undermine the United Nations as the primary platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.
Senior US officials also indicated that Trump will announce plans by several nations to deploy thousands of troops as part of an International Stabilization Force aimed at maintaining peace in Gaza. However, disarming Hamas remains a major obstacle before peacekeepers can be deployed, and the force is not expected to take position for several weeks or months.
Hamas has been reluctant to surrender its weapons, fearing potential Israeli reprisals, despite a fragile ceasefire reached last October under Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan.
Delegations from 47 countries and the European Union are expected to attend the meeting, including Israel and nations from Albania to Vietnam. Notably absent are permanent members of the UN Security Council such as France, Britain, Russia and China.
Speakers at the event are expected to include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, and High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov.
A board member, speaking anonymously, said establishing security in Gaza is a precondition for reconstruction, but local policing forces are not yet fully trained or prepared. Another key question remains who would negotiate directly with Hamas. While the board could engage intermediaries such as Qatar and Turkey — both influential in Gaza — Israel remains skeptical of their involvement.
Humanitarian aid distribution is also a pressing concern. Even if assistance increases significantly, it remains unclear which authority would oversee its effective distribution within Gaza.
