Trump gets pledges for Gaza reconstruction and troop commitments at inaugural Board of Peace talks

Troops will initially be deployed to Rafah, a major population center where the U.S. administration hopes to first focus reconstruction efforts.

The countries making pledges for reconstruction are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait, Trump said.

“Every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region),” Trump said in thanking the donors. He added, “The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built right here in this room."

The dollars pledged, while significant, represent a small fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war between Israel and Hamas.

Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the board, but didn’t specify what the money will be used for. It was also not clear where the U.S. money would come from — a sizable pledge that would need to be authorized by Congress.

Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, the leader of the newly created International Stabilization Force, said the plans call for 12,000 police and 20,000 soldiers for Gaza.

“With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said.

The board was initiated as part of Trump's 20-point peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza. But since the October ceasefire, Trump's vision for the board has morphed and he wants it to have an even more ambitious remit — one that will not only complete the Herculean task of bringing lasting peace between Israel and Hamas but will also help resolve conflicts around the globe.

But the Gaza ceasefire deal remains fragile and Trump's expanded vision for the board has triggered fears the U.S. president is looking to create a rival to the United Nations.

Trump, pushing back against the criticism, said the creation of his board would help make the U.N. viable in the future.

“Someday I won’t be here. The United Nations will be,” Trump said. “I think it is going to be much stronger, and the Board of Peace is going to almost be looking over the United Nations and making sure it runs properly.”

Even as Trump spoke of the gathering as a triumph that would help bring a more persistent peace to the Middle East, he sent new warnings to Iran.

Tensions are high between the United States and Iran as Trump has ordered one of the largest U.S. military buildups in the region in decades.

One aircraft carrier group is already in the region and another is on the way. Trump has warned Tehran it will face American military action if it does not denuclearize, give up ballistic missiles and halt funding to extremist proxy groups, such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

“We have to make a meaningful deal. Otherwise bad things happen,” Trump said.

Some US allies remain skeptical

Nearly 50 countries and the European Union sent officials to Thursday’s meeting. Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the board but that took part as observers.

Most countries sent high-level officials, but a few leaders — including Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Argentine President Javier Milei and Hungarian President Viktor Orbán — traveled to Washington for the gathering.

“Almost everybody’s accepted, and the ones that haven’t, will be," Trump offered. "And some are playing a little cute — it doesn’t work. You can’t play cute with me.”

The U.N. Security Council held a high-level meeting Wednesday on the ceasefire deal and Israel’s efforts to expand control in the West Bank. The U.N. session in New York was originally scheduled for Thursday but was moved up after Trump announced the board’s meeting for the same date and it became clear that it would complicate travel plans for diplomats planning to attend both.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters earlier this week that “at the international level it should above all be the U.N. that manages these crisis situations.”

Official after official used their speaking turns to heap praise on Trump for his ability to end conflicts around the world. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called him the “savior of South Asia,” while others said that years of U.S. foreign policy efforts by his predecessor failed to do what Trump has done in the past year.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan said Trump and others gathered for the meeting deserved thanks for their collective efforts on Gaza. But Fidan, who said Turkey was also prepared to contribute troops to the stabilization force, cautioned that the situation remains precarious.

“The humanitarian situation remains fragile and ceasefire violations continue to occur,” Fidan said. “A prompt, coordinated and effective response is therefore essential.”

Questions about disarming Hamas

Central to Thursday's discussions was assembling an armed international stabilization force to keep security and ensure the disarming of the militant Hamas group, a key demand of Israel and a cornerstone of the ceasefire deal.

Hamas has provided little confidence that it is willing to move forward on disarmament. The administration is “under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization” but has been encouraged by what mediators have reported back, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

But the unresolved issue of disarming Hamas is a sticking point that could very well delay or even derail the U.S. plan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a dusty army base in southern Israel, repeated his pledge that “there will be no reconstruction” of Gaza before demilitarization. His foreign minister, Gideon Saar, said during Thursday’s ceremony “there must be a fundamental deradicalization process.”

Trump told the gathering that Hamas has promised to disarm and would be met “very harshly” if it fails to do so. But he gave few details on how the difficult task would be carried out.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there is a “long ways to go” in Gaza.

“There’s a lot of work that remains that will require the contribution of every nation state represented here today," Rubio added.

Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Didi Tang in Washington, Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed reporting.