Discussions on Gaza’s future must begin with a total halt to Israeli “aggression”, Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said after U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace met for the first time.

“Any political process or any arrangement under discussion concerning the Gaza Strip and the future of our Palestinian people must start with the total halt of aggression, the lifting of the blockade, and the guarantee of our people’s legitimate national rights, first and foremost their right to freedom and self-determination,” Hamas said in a statement Thursday (February 19, 2026).

Mr. Trump’s board met for its inaugural session in Washington on Thursday (February 19, 2026), with a number of countries pledging money and personnel to rebuild the Palestinian territory, more than four months into a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted however that Hamas must disarm before any reconstruction begins.

“We agreed with our ally the U.S. that there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarisation of Gaza,” Mr. Netanyahu said.

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The Israeli leader did not attend the Washington meeting but was represented by his foreign minister Gideon Saar.

Mr. Trump said several countries, mostly in the Gulf, had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Muslim-majority Indonesia will take a deputy commander role in a nascent International Stabilisation Force, the unit’s American chief Major General Jasper Jeffers said.

Mr. Trump, whose plan for Gaza was endorsed by the UN Security Council in November, also said five countries had committed to providing troops, including Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania.

President Donald Trump announced on Thursday (February 19, 2026) at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting that nine members of the body have agreed to pledge $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait are the countries that are making pledges, Mr. Trump added.

“But every dollar spent is an investment in stability and the hope of new and harmonious (region),” said Mr. Trump, thanking the donors.

The amount, while significant, represents a fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territory decimated after two years of war.

Mr. Trump also announced the U.S. was pledging $10 billion for the Board of Peace but didn’t specify what the money will be used for.

“The Board of Peace is showing how a better future can be built, starting right here in this room,” Mr. Trump said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has again credited himself for ending the conflict between nuclear-armed neighbours India and Pakistan, as he asserted that Norway controls the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour he claims he deserves for ending eight wars and saving millions of lives.

He also said that while he may not care about the prize, he does care about saving lives.

“I don’t care about the Nobel Prize… A very fine woman felt that I deserved it and really wanted me to have the Nobel Prize. And I appreciate that. If anybody thinks that Norway doesn’t control the Nobel Prize, they’re just kidding. They have a board, but it’s controlled by Norway, and I don’t care what Norway says,” Mr. Trump told reporters after attending a college football championship game in Miami on Monday (January 19, 2026).

Last week, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Mr. Trump at the White House, which he described as a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.

The President also said that he has “saved tens of millions of lives”.

“If you look at India, Pakistan…two nuclear powers. You look at so many of the countries that were in a 30, in some cases a 35-year-war, I got it done. We stopped eight wars, and maybe we’ll be stopping the ninth very soon,” he said.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for stopping the India-Pakistan conflict, a claim he has now made about 80 times since May 10 last year, when he announced on social media that the two nations had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after talks mediated by Washington.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention.

Mr. Trump has also said that no one in history is more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than him, and has criticised former U.S. President Barack Obama for receiving the award in 2009 shortly after assuming office, even though he “didn’t do anything”.

The President is scheduled to deliver a special address at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Wednesday (January 21), where he will also meet foreign leaders and business executives.

On Thursday (January 22), on the margins of the World Economic Forum, Mr. Trump will participate in the “Board of Peace Charter announcement”, where nations would be invited to sign the charter, joining the body aimed at Gaza’s redevelopment under his comprehensive plan to end the conflict.

Mr. Trump has invited several global leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to join the Board of Peace, seen as a rival to the United Nations, that will work towards bringing lasting peace to Gaza and embark on a “bold new approach” to resolve “global conflict”.

Responding to a question that French President Emmanuel Macron has declined to join his Board of Peace, Mr. Trump said, “Well, nobody wants him because he’s going to be out of office very soon. So you know, that’s all right… I’ll put a 200% tariff on his wines and champagnes, and he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join if he said that. You’re probably giving it to me a little bit differently, but if he actually did say that… he’s going to be out of the office in a few months.”

Mr. Trump said he has also invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to join the Board.

King ‍Mohammed VI ​of Morocco accepted an ‌invitation ​by President Donald Trump to join as a founding member ​of the U.S.-led ⁠Board of Peace, Morocco’s Foreign Ministry ​said ⁠on Monday (January 19, 2026).

Morocco welcomes the second phase ‌of Trump’s ‌comprehensive peace plan, as well ‍as the official creation ‍of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza as a ⁠temporary transitional body, the Ministry ​said in ⁠a statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (January 15, 2026) announced the formation of a Gaza “board of peace,” a key phase two element of a U.S.-backed plan to end the war in the Palestine. The Board of Peace for Gaza comprises a group of countries that are being invited by the U.S. to provide a governance structure for the Gaza Strip, as Hamas is being pressured to give up its governance role in the territory as part of Mr. Trump’s peace plan.

France “does not intend to answer favourably” to an invitation to join the board a source close to President Emmanuel Macron told AFP on Monday (January 19, 2026).