Trump Launches Peace Council, Announces $7 Billion for Gaza Reconstruction in Washington

U.S. President Donald Trump convened the first meeting of his “Peace Council” on Thursday, February 19, in Washington, where he said “C’est notre première réunion, mais chaque dollar dépensé est un investissement dans la stabilité et l’espoir d’une nouvelle région harmonieuse… qui est si importante, si dynamique, si incroyable.”

“Alors qu’Israël poursuit sa guerre génocidaire dans la bande de Gaza, les membres du nouveau “Conseil de la paix” réunis par Donald Trump ont développé leur plan pour la “reconstruction” de l’enclave”

Agence Media Palestine

At that opening, Trump announced 7 milliards for the reconstruction of Gaza and added that the United States would contribute 10 milliards to the operations of the Council, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs would collect 2 milliards for Gaza.

Agence Media Palestine

The plan also ties to a stabilization force, with the Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto saying his country would provide “jusqu’à 8 000 soldats” to the proposed force, which would begin activities in Rafah, controlled by Israel, and aim to form 12 000 police and 20 000 soldiers.

The same source says the Council’s members condition contributions on the disarmament of Hamas while Israel continues to bomb the enclave, and it adds that two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire and two others were assassinated during the night before the Washington meeting.

In parallel, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the goal of funding and providing essential elements for rebuilding Gaza but stressed limiting efforts to the Gaza reconstruction framework rather than personal initiatives beyond it, saying “he sees no other goal for the Peace Council besides the Gaza reconstruction.”

In an interview with Politico, Guterres argued that the Security Council had identified and adopted a goal for Gaza reconstruction and that anything else is a personal project of Trump, adding that he sees “no need for the council outside the Gaza reconstruction plan.”

The same reporting frames this as a question of international law and UN Charter values, with Guterres saying “We must be clear about international law and about the values of the UN Charter.”

Association France Palestine Solidarité

The Agence Média Palestine account describes how, even as leaders discussed “la ‘reconstruction’ de l’enclave” in Washington, it recorded killings and injuries from Israeli fire, stating “deux Palestinien·nes ont été blessé·es par des tirs israéliens” and “deux autres ont été assassiné·es au cours de la nuit qui précédait.”

It also says Trump claimed “la guerre à Gaza est terminée. Elle est terminée,” while the same piece says the murders raised the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army since the start of Trump’s “paix” on 10 octobre dernier to 611.

Separately, UN News describes the reconstruction urgency after the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, with UNDP estimating that only 0.5% of the rubble accumulated during two years of war between Israel and Hamas has been cleared and warning that at the current pace it will take seven years to remove all debris.

UN News says the housing crisis remains immediate, describing a population forced to survive in shelters that “could hardly be called tents, so rudimentary they are,” while UNDP reports that about 500 temporary housing units have already been installed and 4,000 are ready to be deployed.

“It was on X that Donald Trump’s special envoy for the 'peace missions', Steve Witkoff, announced on January 14 the 'launch of phase two of the 20-point plan' for Donald Trump for the Gaza Strip, 'moving from the very fragile ceasefire' in force for three months to 'demilitarization, technocratic governance and reconstruction' of the devastated Palestinian enclave”

Courrier international

It adds that between 200,000 and 300,000 additional units would be needed to provide less precarious living conditions, and it quotes UNDP administrator De Croo saying “This is not the life the inhabitants should have, but it is better than what exists today.”

On access, the same UN reporting says the major obstacle remains humanitarian and logistical access and that UNDP is calling for more authorizations to deliver heavy equipment, materials, and support to the local private sector, insisting that restrictions should not prevent organizations like UNDP and international NGOs from obtaining access.

The piece also links reconstruction to security and health, noting that unexploded ordnance buried in the rubble pose a permanent health and security risk and that 90% of Gaza’s residents live amid piles of rubble.

In parallel, Agence Media Palestine says the Council’s contributions are conditioned on Hamas disarmament while Israel continues to bombard Gaza without relâche, and it reports that the UN, the EU, and the World Bank estimated the cost of reconstruction of Gaza at 70 milliards de dollars.