Board of Peace Concludes First Meeting as Israel Warns Hamas Is Reasserting Control in Gaza
The inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace concluded Thursday amid sharply differing assessments of conditions in Gaza, with the White House highlighting billions of dollars in international pledges while Israeli officials warned that Hamas is moving to reassert control in the territory.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting ended with participating states voting on a resolution “establishing the principles of financial integrity and transparency that will guide the board’s work.” She said countries pledged more than $6.5 billion in funding, while President Donald Trump said during opening remarks that the total exceeded $7 billion and did not include an additional $10 billion pledged by the United States.
Financial commitments were made by Kazakhstan, Romania, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Morocco and Saudi Arabia and other nations. Participating countries also offered non-monetary assistance, including scholarships for Gaza residents, medical treatment for thousands of children, technical support and equipment for rebuilding infrastructure, and personnel for a future police force. Qatar pledged $1 billion, describing the contribution as “aimed at reaching a final resolution that fulfills Palestinian aspiration for statehood and recognition and the Israeli aspiration for security and integration.”
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President Trump told participants he believed the fighting in Gaza had effectively ended and that Hamas would relinquish its weapons. “The war in Gaza is over. It’s over,” he said, adding that “there are little flames.” He also said Hamas leaders were not prepared for the consequences of refusing to disarm. “Hamas has been, I think they’re going to give up their weapons, which is what they promised,” he said. “If they don’t, it’ll be, you know, they’ll be harshly met, very harshly met.”
The organization may assume a supervisory role over the United Nations, said President Trump: “The Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly,” adding that it would ensure the UN’s viability.
Despite those statements, Israeli officials cited a military assessment indicating Hamas is consolidating its grip inside Gaza, according to Reuters. The assessment said the group is placing loyalists in government offices, collecting taxes and paying salaries, and integrating supporters into security bodies and local authorities in an effort to preserve its influence “from the bottom up.” The document was presented to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late January.
Hamas has said it is willing to transfer administrative authority to a US-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats led by Ali Shaath, a former Palestinian Authority official in the West Bank, but said Israel has not allowed committee members to enter Gaza to assume their duties.
