Trump pledges $10 billion as nations commit funds and troops for Gaza stabilization

President Donald Trump pledged $10 billion and announced that member states had committed roughly $7 billion to a new international effort to stabilize and rebuild Gaza at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace on Feb. 20 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Officials at the meeting said five countries pledged troops and two more agreed to train police for an International Stabilization Force intended to secure initial reconstruction work in Rafah.

The Board of Peace, created last month and to be chaired indefinitely by Mr. Trump, was presented by the administration as the coordinating body for reconstruction in Gaza and other conflict zones. An administration list circulated at the meeting identified Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait as contributors to the roughly $7 billion in non-U.S. pledges. Officials said Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania pledged troops, while Egypt and Jordan committed to police training.

Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, named leader of the new stabilization force, outlined a concept that calls for 20,000 soldiers and 12,000 police for Gaza. “With these first steps, we help bring the security that Gaza needs for a future of prosperity and enduring peace,” Jeffers said. Administration officials said troops would initially be deployed to Rafah, a city that Israeli authorities currently control and that officials described as largely destroyed and mostly depopulated.

The financial headlines mask sharp practical questions. Mr. Trump told attendees he would also “strengthen up the United Nations” and that the United States would help the U.N. financially, while declaring that “the Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built right here in this room.” But the administration did not specify where the $10 billion would come from, the timetable for disbursing it, or whether the pledge represents an immediate appropriation or a multi-year commitment requiring congressional authorization. A U.S. official said the $10 billion “would be contributed over the coming years.”

Delegates and experts at the meeting warned that security and legal preconditions could delay or block spending. High Representative Nickolay Mladenov told the meeting that in order to begin reconstruction “there is no other option” than full demilitarization of Gaza and the decommissioning of weaponry. An unidentified participant quoted at the meeting said bluntly, “the money is no good if you can’t spend it,” underscoring constraints tied to access, oversight and local security.

The pledges amount to a fraction of the work ahead. Estimates of the cost to rebuild Gaza after two years of war put the need near $70 billion, meaning the roughly $17 billion in headline commitments would cover only a portion of immediate needs. Humanitarian officials noted the ceasefire remains fragile; Palestinian health authorities reported more than 600 deaths in Gaza since the truce began, and aid delivery remains tightly conditioned on security arrangements.

Attendance figures reported by the administration and other officials diverged: the White House described the gathering as drawing more than 20 countries, while other delegation lists indicated representatives from more than 40 states. Videos and presentations shown at the meeting sketched commercial development visions for Gaza, but attendees left with implementation questions unanswered: precise funding mechanisms, congressional signoff, command arrangements for the stabilization force, rules of engagement, and a timeline for when reconstruction can actually begin under Israeli control.