Trump to chair Board of Peace meeting on Feb 19, discuss security in Gaza: White House Press Secy

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump will chair the Board of Peace meeting on Thursday (local time) and will make an announcement regarding the $5 billion pledged for Gaza by 20 member states attending the meeting, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

Addressing the media, Leavitt said that the Board of Peace meeting will focus on maintaining security in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

The White House Press Secretary said, “Tomorrow, Trump will host the Board of Peace meeting at 3 pm at the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace. He will announce that member states have pledged $5 billion towards Gaza humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and have also committed thousands of personnel for the International Stabilisation Force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans”.

#WATCH | Washington DC | On reconstruction fund for the Gaza Strip, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says, “The Board of Peace will be deciding on how the funding (for Gaza). Then the technocratic layer underneath, comprising the member countries, will also be… pic.twitter.com/UOHPKB7h3o

— ANI (@ANI) February 18, 2026

“The President will open the meeting with his remarks and will be formally chairing the meeting… How we can maintain security will be part of the discussion tomorrow, and how we can achieve security to get prosperity”, she added.

When asked about the decision on funding of the board, she said, “It will be the Board of Peace (which will make decisions), of which the President is the chairman. All member parties will vote on funding, and then there is a technocratic layer under the Board of Peace”.

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said that member states of the newly formed Board of Peace have pledged over $5 billion towards humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Gaza.

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said, “On February 19, 2026, I will again be joined by Board of Peace Members at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, where we will announce that Member States have pledged more than USD 5 BILLION DOLLARS toward the Gaza Humanitarian and Reconstruction efforts”.

He added that member states have committed “thousands of personnel to the International Stabilisation Force and local police to maintain security and peace for Gazans” and stressed that “Hamas must uphold its commitment to full and immediate demilitarisation”.

The Board of Peace, launched by Trump in Davos in January, was initially designed to oversee Gaza’s post-war transition under a broader peace framework. However, its expanded mandate to promote “global peace” and elements of its charter, including provisions allowing Trump to serve indefinitely as chairman, have raised legal and political concerns in several EU capitals. (ANI)