President Donald Trump has announced at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members have agreed to pledge $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package. He also says five countries have agreed to deploy troops as part of an international stabilization force for the war-battered Palestinian territory. While lauding the pledges, Trump faces the unresolved challenge of disarming Hamas, a sticking point that threatens to delay or even derail the Gaza ceasefire plan that his administration notched as a major foreign policy win. The dollars pledged on Thursday, 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.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace is set to meet for the first time on Thursday in Washington. It's an early test of whether one of his marquee foreign policy initiatives can gain broad support or advance the shaky ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Trump's ballooning ambitions for the board extend from governing and rebuilding Gaza as a futuristic metropolis to challenging the United Nations Security Council's role in solving conflicts. But they could be tempered by the realities in Gaza, where there has so far been limited progress in achieving the narrower aims of the ceasefire.
By WAFAA SHURAFA and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press
Two Palestinian men riding bicycles were killed in an Israeli drone strike Tuesday, hospital officials said, as deadly violence continued in Gaza despite an October ceasefire. Gaza health authorities say 586 Palestinians have been killed since the truce took effect, bringing the war's overall toll to more than 72,000. Israel says its strikes respond to ceasefire violations. Some elements of the agreement have advanced, including the return of all hostages and limited reopening of the Rafah crossing. Plans for an international stabilization force are also emerging, with Indonesia saying it is preparing thousands of troops for humanitarian and reconstruction roles, though the force's mandate remains unclear.
By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press
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Health officials in Gaza say Israeli strikes have killed at least 24 Palestinians, including two babies. Israel says it killed three militant leaders and that some of the strikes were in response to an attack that wounded a soldier. The strikes come as an already fragile ceasefire deal is under increasing strain. Hospital officials report that among the dead are at least five children, seven women and an on-duty paramedic. The violence since the ceasefire began on Oct. 10 has killed more than 550 Palestinians. Eight Arab and Muslim countries have condemned Israel's actions. The ceasefire deal aimed to end a 2-year-old war between Israel and Hamas.
By WAFAA SHURAFA and TOQA EZZIDIN Associated Press
A Gaza Health Ministry official says Israel has turned over the bodies of 15 Palestinians just days after recovering the remains of the last Israeli hostage. The transfer on Thursday marks the last hostage-detainee exchange between Israel and Hamas. The return of all remaining hostages living or dead had been a key part of the first phase in the ceasefire that paused the war in October. A spokesperson at Gaza's health ministry says the bodies handed over Thursday were taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. It comes after Israel announced Monday it found and identified the remains of the last Israeli hostage at a cemetery in northern Gaza.
Israel says the remains of the final hostage in Gaza have been recovered, clearing the way for the next phase of the ceasefire that stopped the Israel-Hamas war. Monday's announcement came a day after Israel's government said the military was conducting a "large-scale operation" in a cemetery in northern Gaza to locate the remains of Ran Gvili. The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the Gaza ceasefire's first phase. Gvili's family had urged Israel's government not to enter the second phase until his remains were recovered and returned. Hamas says it now has committed to all terms of the ceasefire's first phase.
By JOSH BOAK, AAMER MADHANI and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced after speaking with President Donald Trump in Davos, Switzerland, two days of trilateral meetings involving the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. Zelenskyy says those meetings start Friday in the United Arab Emirates. Zelenskky met with Trump on Thursday in Davos during the World Economic Forum. Trump has struggled to get Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin to agree to terms to end their nearly 4-year-old war. Also Thursday, Trump inaugurated his Board of Peace to try to maintain a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas, but many U.S. allies are opting out. Trump aims to map a future for Gaza, but those efforts have largely been overshadowed by his efforts to take Greenland.
Israeli strikes in central Gaza have killed eight people, including three women, following the U.S. announcement of a second phase in the fragile ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ceasefire largely symbolic, questioning its implementation. The announcement marked progress but left many questions unanswered, including the composition of a proposed Palestinian governing committee and the deployment of international forces. Palestinians in Gaza expressed skepticism about changes on the ground, citing ongoing violence and hardships. The second phase of the ceasefire faces challenges, including disarming Hamas and transitioning governance. Reconstruction is expected to take years and cost over $50 billion.
The United States says it's moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan involving disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs. President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff says on social media the ceasefire the Republican president helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Witkoff didn't offer any details Wednesday about a new transitional Palestinian administration that would govern Gaza. But other mediators Egypt, Turkey and Qatar said the committee to administer Gaza would be led by a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority.
