By Jacob Burg
Contributing Writer
President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is scheduled to hold its first official meeting on Thursday in Washington, bringing together more than two dozen nations from around the world in the U.S.-backed plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip after years of war between Israel and terrorist group Hamas.
After pledging more than $5 billion toward aid for the Gaza Strip, the member states — which include nations from the Middle East, South America, Europe and beyond — will meet at the former U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters.
Trump said more details on the funds’ use would be presented during the meeting.
Trump Launches Board of Peace
The Trump administration launched the Board of Peace as a way to rebuild Gaza after a cease-fire brokered between Israel and Hamas late last year. It’s part of a multi-faceted approach that includes a Palestinian technocratic committee, led by former Palestinian Authority official Ali Abdel Hamid Sha’ath.
The board aims to provide “strategic oversight, [mobilize] international resources, and [ensure] accountability as Gaza transitions from conflict to peace and development.”
Trump chairs the board and retains full veto power over its decisions and membership.
The U.S. president appointed seven people to serve as the group’s executive board: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, U.S. deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, private equity executive Marc Rowan and World Bank Group president Ajay Banga.
Trump sees the Board of Peace as a potential launching pad for addressing future conflicts beyond the Israel-Hamas war. While Trump has said his Board of Peace is a mechanism for international diplomacy, the United Nations has limited its initial authorization of the board to a focus on Gaza.
He recently said the project could replace the U.N. Security Council, which is tasked with ensuring international peace and has the authority to make decisions that member states are obligated to implement under the U.N. Charter.
The four other most powerful Security Council members — China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom — have either not yet indicated if they will join the Board of Peace, or have publicly rejected Trump’s offer.
Rebuilding Gaza
So far, more than two dozen countries have already signed on to or have indicated their intentions to join the Board of Peace, with many hailing from the Middle East, South America, Europe and Asia.
The countries are Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and the United States.
The combined $5 billion that the Board of Peace’s member states have pledged includes humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations has said that the Gaza Strip faces a humanitarian crisis, with millions facing hunger and malnutrition. In October 2025, it estimated that 81% of all structures in the Gaza Strip were damaged.
The nations have also committed “thousands of personnel to the International Stabilization Force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
He added that “very importantly, Hamas must uphold its commitment to full and immediate demilitarization.”
The inaugural meeting will feature both delegations and heads of state from the more than two dozen nations that have joined the Board of Peace so far.
Criticism of the Board
Multiple countries, including key U.S. allies and major world powers, had declined to join Trump’s Board of Peace by late January: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
Those that have yet to respond to Trump’s invitations include China, Croatia, Cyprus, India, the European Union’s executive arm, Russia and Singapore.
Some foreign leaders have raised concerns about the board’s structure.
“We have serious doubts about a number of elements in the charter of the Board of Peace related to its scope, its governance and its compatibility with the U.N. Charter,” European Council President António Costa wrote in a statement.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk cited similar issues when declining Trump’s invitation to join.
New Zealand also recently declined Trump’s offer, citing a need for clarity on how the initiative will coexist with the United Nations, while other nations — Croatia, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia and Spain — indicated they would not join the board.
Although Trump has suggested the Board of Peace could replace the security council, which he said “just hasn’t been very helpful” in his efforts to end conflicts around the world, he also said “you’ve got to let the U.N. continue, because the potential is so great.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
