President Donald Trump‘s Board of Peace gathered in Washington on Thursday for its long-awaited first meeting, with the next stage of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza in focus.
It was an event teeming with “the greatest world leaders,” financial and troop pledges and promises of global conflicts settled, which he cast as a coda to his presidency.
The board would not only achieve peace in Gaza but also intervene in “hot spots” around the world, Trump said. “We will help Gaza,” he said. “We will straighten it out. We will make it successful. We will make it peaceful. And we will do things like that in other spots.”
Its members would be able to “do things many other people couldn’t conceive or think of,” he added, calling this first meeting featuring representatives of at least 40 countries, including heads of state, “one of, if not the, most important day of our careers.”
Trump also said board members had committed $7 billion for reconstruction in Gaza and announced a $10 billion commitment from the U.S. to the Board of Peace initiative, a sum that he said was small compared to the cost of war.
“It’s two weeks of fighting,” he said. “Sounds like a lot, but it’s a very small number.”
Trump did not say where the $10 billion would come from, and the White House did not respond to an inquiry from NBC News.
Ahead of the meeting, some key U.S. allies had raised concern that Trump might hope to challenge the United Nations with his broader ambition of using the board to help resolve global conflicts. In his remarks, Trump vowed to “lift up” the U.N., even as he said the Board of Peace “is going to almost be looking over” the historic international body “and making sure it runs properly.”
Numerous world leaders were there, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Argentine President Javier Milei, both allies of Trump. Participants were handed red MAGA-style hats emblazoned with “USA.”
Trump, speaking to the group, cast the board as a central part of his legacy, with peace a central focus in his second term. It was held at the Institute of Peace. Trump said it was Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s idea to rename it the “Donald J. Trump U.S. Institute of Peace,” calling it a “surprise” that has made him work harder.
Potential ‘bad things’ for Iran
Representing the U.S. were Trump, Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser.
He lavished praise on the leaders, quipping that those who had not yet joined the board “are playing a little cute.”
While Trump highlighted his peacemaking efforts around the world, at one point urging world leaders to stand up and shake hands with former adversaries, he also addressed potential U.S. strikes against Iran. Trump offered a possible 10-day timeline for when he would reveal his plans as the U.S. continues to push more weaponry into the region.
Although negotiations with Iran are ongoing, the U.S. has gathered the most air power in the region in decades. Trump warned that “bad things will happen” if the sides fail to reach what he called a “meaningful” deal.
“Now, we may have to take it a step further,” he added. “Or we may not. … You’re going to be finding out over the next, probably, 10 days.”
Trump also cast a political lens on the event, taking credit for landslide electoral victories in other countries after he endorsed foreign leaders, name-checking Milei, Orbán and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as part of a global group of like-minded counterparts and examples of his sway and influence abroad.
Shifting his gaze back home, Trump praised Rubio and Vance, members of his administration who are seen as potential successors. Speaking about Rubio’s recent remarks at a defense conference in Munich, Trump joked, “Marco, don’t do any better than you did, please, because if you do, you’re out of here.”
Plan for Gaza
Trump announced a multibillion-dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza, along with contributions from board members, including $75 million from FIFA to build soccer facilities in the region. Trump thanked FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who briefly wore a red MAGA-style hat as the event got underway.
Trump also unveiled details of plans for a U.N.-authorized stabilization force in Gaza, including countries that have committed to dedicating several thousand troops to the initiative, such as Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.
The meeting included updates on a variety of efforts, including humanitarian assistance, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza and the International Stabilization Force.
A video played at the event outlined a three-year goal to rebuild Rafah, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, along with the creation of a “gateway” connecting Gaza to Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and extending to India and Europe. Looking ahead, by year 10, “Gaza will be self-governed, integrated into the region with thriving industries and housing for all,” the video said.
Norway to host meeting
Trump initially pitched the body to oversee peace efforts in Gaza, before he drastically expanded its remit to be a U.N.-style body intended to address major world conflicts. A host of countries have committed to join, though it remains unclear how many, if any, have committed to donate $1 billion to the initiative for permanent membership.
Certain key U.S. allies, such as the U.K., France, Norway and Sweden, have declined to join, with some citing concerns over its charter, which made no direct mention of Gaza, and its potential to undermine the U.N.’s role in peacekeeping efforts. Some still sent envoys, including the U.K., Norway and Italy.
Trump announced Thursday that Norway had agreed to host a Board of Peace event, though it was not immediately clear whether its opposition to joining the group had changed. He said he was “excited to announce” the news but voiced mock disappointment, saying he “thought they were going to say that they’re giving me the Nobel Prize.”
“This is less exciting,” he added.
Pope Leo XIV was the latest figure to turn down Trump’s invitation to join the board, with the Vatican expressing concern that “the U.N. is primarily responsible for managing these crisis situations.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the decision “deeply unfortunate,” adding, “I don’t think that peace should be partisan or political or controversial.”
Some world leaders have also voiced concern over Russia’s potential involvement after an invitation was extended to the Kremlin. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said this week that Russia would not join the first summit but is still “working out” its long-term position, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
The European Union said that it would send Dubravka Šuica, the European commissioner for the Mediterranean, to Washington for the summit but that the E.U. would not join the board.
Some nations, including Italy, were also represented as observers, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani saying Italy was also prepared to help train police forces in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories, according to Reuters.
While some U.S. allies have opted out of the initiative, at least one has been excluded altogether, with Trump withdrawing Canada’s invitation to join last month, shortly after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum warning of a “rupture” in the world order.
No Palestinian representation
Human rights experts and others have condemned the Board of Peace as a colonial project and questioned a lack of Palestinian representation on its Gaza executive board.
“It is a colonialist operation: others deciding for the Palestinians,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, according to Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser Mahmoud Al-Habbash said it was a “temporary arrangement” that the “Palestinian leadership rejects under any circumstances,” but he said it was the “lesser of two evils,” speaking with the Arabic outlet Asharq Al-Awsat.
Julie Norman, an associate fellow of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program, said in a phone interview Wednesday: “So far, we have not seen Gaza’s interests reflected in the Board of Peace. That has just been clear from the way the mandate of the board has shifted.”
A separate technocratic body supervised by the Gaza executive board, comprising Palestinians and led by Palestinian official Ali Shaath, will oversee day-to-day administration in Gaza
The lack of Palestinian representation could become more divisive after Israel joined the Board of Peace last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement on X last week while he was on a trip to Washington to meet Trump.
As it stands, the ceasefire in Gaza has continued to largely hold, despite continued Israeli airstrikes in the war-torn enclave in which hundreds have been killed amid the truce, according to Palestinian health officials, while Hamas and Israel have traded accusations of ceasefire violations.
Meanwhile, dire conditions have persisted for Palestinians in the enclave, where most of the population remains displaced, living in tents.
Implementing the next steps of the ceasefire, including the demilitarization of Hamas, a key stipulation and sticking point in the ceasefire deal, will be a monumental task, as will outlining plans to rebuild Gaza, where much of the enclave has been destroyed.
“We are under no illusions on the challenges regarding demilitarization, but we have been encouraged by what the mediators have reported back,” a senior U.S. official said.
Trump noted at the summit Thursday that when he took office, “the war in Gaza was raging with thousands of people being killed and no end in sight.”
Now, he said, “the war in Gaza is over,” despite what he referred to as “little flames.”
