US President Donald Trump has said the Board of Peace that will oversee the management of Gaza will include “the heads of every major country”, as he touted his plan for the enclave at a dinner with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“While it looks a little bit messy … [Gaza] is getting very close to being perfected,” Mr Trump said during the event at the White House on Tuesday night.
“I hope Your Highness will be on the board,” he added, referring to Prince Mohammed.
“Everybody wants to be on the board,” Mr Trump said. “It will have the heads of major countries, I think all of the major countries … It’ll end up being quite a large board.”
The UN Security Council this week voted in favour of Mr Trump's Gaza plan, which includes the Board of Peace and an international stabilisation force for the enclave. It also lays out what Washington calls a “pathway” towards an independent Palestinian state.
Monday's vote was a pivotal moment in efforts to chart Gaza’s future after two years of war in the territory between Israel and Hamas.
The UN resolution gives the Board of Peace a mandate to manage Gaza until the end of 2027.
Mr Trump said Hamas had done “a lot of work” since the Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10 to find and return the bodies of hostages the group had been holding. “A lot of people said they wouldn’t be doing that, but they did do it,” he said.
The US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey brokered the ceasefire as the first phase of Mr Trump's peace plan, which has also resulted in Hamas exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
The second phase, which has yet to begin, involves the creation and deployment of the stabilisation force. It is to be made up mainly of troops from Arab and Muslim-majority nations and will be tasked with maintaining security.
This phase also includes the disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of Gaza. Much of the coastal enclave's built-up areas have been destroyed by massive Israeli aerial bombardments in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023 that sparked the war.
Mr Trump said Gazans now have “a lot more safety than they’ve ever had before” following the ceasefire.
“We also want to thank all of the people living in Gaza … They’ve begun to move back to their homes,” he added.
But with much of the territory's infrastructure destroyed, many Gazans are living in makeshift shelters.
