Trump says allies have contributed over $7 billion to Gaza relief

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that various U.S. allies have contributed over $7 billion to relief efforts in Gaza.

Speaking to the initial meeting of the Board of Peace, which Trump created, the U.S. president said that it looks like Palestinian militant group Hamas will disarm.

.@POTUS: “Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing. If they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too — but it’ll be a very different path. They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region.” pic.twitter.com/w8bkVpoGL6

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 19, 2026

“I’m pleased to announce that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait have all contributed more than $7 billion toward the relief package,” Trump said at the board’s inaugural meeting in Washington.

In a flurry of announcements at the end of a long, winding speech, Trump said the United States will make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. He said contributing nations had raised $7 billion as an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction.

Trump first proposed the board last September when he announced his plan to end Israel’s war in Gaza. He later made clear the board’s remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.

Trump also said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and that the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.

The Board of Peace includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives and Trump’s suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the U.N.’s role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.

“We’re going to strengthen the United Nations,” Trump said, trying to assuage his critics. “It’s really very important.”

The meeting came as Trump threatens war against Iran and has embarked on a massive military buildup in the region in case Tehran refuses to give up its nuclear program.

Trump said he should know in 10 days whether a deal is possible. “We have to have a meaningful deal,” he said.

The event had the feel of a Trump campaign rally, with music blaring from his eclectic playlist from Elvis Presley to the Beach Boys. Red Trump hats were given to participants.

Senior U.S. officials said Trump will also announce that several nations are planning to send thousands of troops to participate in an International Stabilization Force that will help keep the peace in Gaza when it eventually deploys.

Hamas, fearful of Israeli reprisals, has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as part of Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan that brought about a fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year Gaza war.

Trump said he hoped use of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary. He said Hamas had promised to disarm and it “looks like they’re going to be doing that, but we’ll have to find out.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Israel that Hamas will be disarmed one way or the other. “Very soon, Hamas will face a dilemma – to disarm peacefully or disarmed forcefully,” he said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem said any international force must “monitor the ceasefire and prevent the (Israeli) occupation from continuing its aggression”. Disarmament could be discussed, he said, without directly committing to it.

Hamas, which has resumed administration of the ruined enclave, says it is ready to hand over to a U.S.-backed committee of Palestinian technocrats led by Ali Shaath but that Israel has not allowed the group into Gaza. Israel has yet to comment on those assertions.

The White House in January named U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as members of the initiative’s founding Executive Board.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE JOINED THE BOARD SO FAR?

The board’s official X account has listed over two dozen countries as founding members of the initiative, including Washington’s main Middle Eastern allies.

They include Israel and Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt and Qatar, which helped mediate talks for the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Others in the region include Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
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From elsewhere in the world, there is Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, El Salvador, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.