US President Donald Trump said Sunday that members of his Board of Peace have pledged more than $5 billion to reconstruct Gaza. File Photo by World Economic Forum/Benedikt von Loebel/UPI | License Photo
President Donald Trump said member states of his newly created Board of Peace have pledged more than $5 billion toward rebuilding Gaza and thousands of personnel to maintain security in the Palestinian enclave.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social media platform on Sunday that the pledge will be officially announced on Thursday during the inaugural meeting of the board at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.
“The Board of Peace will prove to be the most consequential International Body in History, and it is my honor to serve as its Chairman,” Trump said.
Specifics such as how much and what each member state pledged were not made public.
More than 20 countries have joined the board, which Trump formally launched last month on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The board is tied to a U.N.-backed Gaza stabilization and reconstruction plan, but questions about its scope have grown because the board’s charter does not mention the Palestinian enclave and critics worry that the initiative might undermine the United Nations.
Scrutiny has also focused on its membership, which includes Belarus, which aided Russia in its war against Ukraine, and Israel, whose leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in November 2024 alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
More than 50 nations reportedly received invitations to join, but many U.S. and Western allies have declined. Trump said he rescinded an invitation to Canada as relations between Ottawa and Washington have deteriorated during Trump’s second term.
Much of the Palestinian enclave has been damaged or destroyed since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.
United Nations estimates state that more than 81% of all buildings and structures in Gaza have been either damaged or destroyed.
U.N. agencies have said that around $70 billion is needed to reconstruct the enclave, which measures about 25.4 miles long and between 3.7 and 7.5 miles wide along the Mediterranean.
Displaced Palestinians return to Gaza
Thousands of displaced Palestinians walk along the Rashid coastal road toward Gaza City on October 10, 2025, after the implementation of a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Photo by Hassan Al-Jadi/UPI | License Photo
