US President Donald Trump declared “the war in Gaza is over” on February 19, the day of the official launch of his Board of Peace.
Speaking in Washington accompanied by representatives from 40 countries, he announced the US would contribute $10 billion towards the strip's reconstruction, with other nations pledging another $7 billion.
The money was intended to support the vast task of rebuilding and economically redeveloping the enclave after much of it was reduced to rubble during two years of Israeli bombardment. Estimated reconstruction costs could exceed $70 billion.
“This is about rebuilding lives, not just rebuilding buildings,” Mr Trump said at the US Institute of Peace, which has since been renamed after him. The people of Gaza, he added, had “suffered beyond imagination”.
Months later, reconstruction has yet to begin.
Observers said momentum behind the Gaza initiative slowed sharply after the outbreak of the Iran war, launched shortly after the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, as political attention and diplomatic energy shifted away from Gaza.
“The Iran war has taken the spotlight,” a source familiar with diplomatic efforts, told The National, adding that the current situation could not continue indefinitely. “But how it ends could have ramifications throughout the region.”
“No one is happy with the status quo.”
The official described current measures as little more than “a Band-Aid” over the crisis.
“Donor countries are distracted. That is to be expected. But when the Iran conflict ends, they will need to step up.”
What's the plan?
On announcing the Board of Peace formation in January, Mr Trump said he would solicit $1 billion “lifetime membership” contributions from world leaders – and the first focus would be Gaza.
He said the board would tackle issues the UN had failed to resolve, prompting concern in some European capitals that the initiative could undermine international institutions.
A European official based in Washington, whose government declined to join the board, said the initiative initially appeared designed to sideline the UN.
“Now, it seems it was overhyped and another example of Trump hoping to generate a lot of enthusiasm for his projects,” the official told The National, adding that their government would still be willing to work with the board because it supported the broader goal of rebuilding Gaza.
In November, the UN Security Council endorsed the board’s creation as part of Mr Trump’s Gaza initiative, and authorised it to help oversee reconstruction, governance and an international stabilisation force responsible for keeping the peace.
The vote gave international legitimacy to the board’s proposed role in Gaza.
In January, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner presented plans at the World Economic Forum in Davos for a futuristic, artificial intelligence-driven Gaza featuring high-rise towers and luxury developments.
Mr Kushner called the project New Gaza and said it could be completed within “two or three years” if security conditions allowed reconstruction to proceed.
A joint assessment by the EU, UN and World Bank estimated that more than $70 billion would be needed to rebuild Gaza over the next decade. It is estimated that it could take more than three years to make the transition from humanitarian assistance to full reconstruction.
US officials said that reconstruction would begin in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, close to border with Egypt. Mr Kushner said Rafah, which he called New Rafah, could be entirely rebuilt within three years.
Where's the money?
The source said funding for the reconstruction effort is expected to flow through a World Bank-supervised mechanism known as the Gaza Reconstruction and Development Fund.
The official added that the Trump administration has started congressional pre-notification procedures for an initial $250 million tranche for Gaza recovery efforts, while stressing that the broader $10 billion pledge by Washington was never expected to be spent within a single fiscal year.
The Gaza Reconstruction and Development Fund, however, has yet to receive any money because Gaza remains in a humanitarian phase rather than a reconstruction phase.
In the meantime, another financial mechanism has been established through JP Morgan accounts, which have been used to pay the salaries of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza – a panel of 12 Palestinian technocrats created under the Board of Peace framework to oversee services and reconstruction.
The UAE, Morocco and Bahrain are among the few countries to have contribute funds to that mechanism so far, according to another official.
That body has yet to operate inside Gaza because Israel has not allowed any of its members to enter the territory.
Only a fraction of the pledged funding has been disbursed and humanitarian aid is trickling into Gaza.
“Some weeks are better than others – it should be a lot better,” the official said.
Aid organisations said that of the dozens of lorries that enter the strip each day, many of them are carrying commercial goods, or “non nutritious” items. Israel also continues to block the entry of items it considers “dual use”, including tents, prefabricated homes and vehicles needed to clear millions of tonnes of rubble.
“People are still living under very dire conditions – the situation is particularly bad when it comes to water and sanitation,” said Majd Hardan, a spokeswoman for Juzoor, a West Bank-based aid organisation.
“The war in Iran has really impacted the world’s attention and taken it away from Gaza and the issue of humanitarian needs and rebuilding. Nothing is happening right now.”
Hamas disarmament
The failure of Hamas to disarm has been used as a major reason behind delays in reconstruction.
“On the political front, we’re challenged,” said the source familiar with the diplomatic efforts. “Hamas isn’t disarmed. Aid has helped significantly but the people of Gaza need a lot more, including sustainable reconstruction. That requires Hamas to disarm. You cannot fund projects and implement them near an RPG or over a tunnel or next door to Hamas HQ.”
“The next steps hinge on the decommissioning of weapons. And that isn’t looking hopeful right now.”
The official said Hamas had yet to clarify whether it was willing to surrender its weapons.
“Decommissioning” refers to Hamas fighters surrendering weapons rather than dismantling the movement entirely, but the official said the group has yet to commit to the process.
Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative of the Board of Peace, last week urged the UN Security Council to use “every means at its disposal” to pressure Hamas to disarm.
“There is no third option,” he said. “There never was, and the people of Gaza should not be made to wait while some pretend that there is.”
He also called on Israel to honour its ceasefire commitments.
Aid organisations said humanitarian assistance should not be tied to political or military negotiations.
An international stabilisation force, proposed under the Board of Peace framework to maintain order during the postwar transition and protect humanitarian and reconstruction operations, has also not been deployed.
Several countries, including Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Pakistan, have discussed contributing personnel for the Israeli military.
Indonesia had originally pledged 8,000 troops for the peacekeeping mission but put those plans on hold after the war in Iran broke out, dealing a major blow to the effort.
US officials said there are also plans to train a Palestinian police force in Egypt funded by the UAE, although it remains unclear whether the programme has begun.
Scott Paul, director of peace and security at Oxfam America, said a main concern was the question of sequencing, as well as addressing concerns over how the rebuilding would happen and under which design principles.
“Before any physical reconstruction takes place, people need to heal, people need to be able to find their families, people need to be able to deal with malnutrition, deal with much more immediate concerns with physical safety and health – that isn't going to be solved with the physical reconstruction,” Mr Paul said.
Palestinian officials said the remains of around 8,000 Palestinians are still believed to be trapped under rubble across Gaza – about 60 million tonnes from collapsed buildings – much of it likely to be littered with unexploded bombs.
Palestinians sidelined
Last year, Mr Trump floated the idea of temporarily relocating Palestinians from Gaza while reconstruction was under way. He suggested the US would “own” the coastal enclave and oversee its redevelopment, while Palestinians lived elsewhere during the rebuilding process.
The announcement drew intense pushback from Arab countries and the Trump administration has since said there are no plans to relocate Palestinians.
However, members of Israel’s right-wing government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have increasingly argued that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza, either temporarily or permanently. Far-right ministers including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have promoted what they describe as “voluntary migration” to other countries and have backed renewed Israeli settlement in Gaza.
“One of the main concerns is that there’s deliberately a creation and cultivation of these unlivable, or barely liveable, conditions in much of western Gaza,” said an official from an aid organisation operating in the territory.
“That is potentially being used to create a coercive environment that will induce people to move. Under those circumstances, that cannot be considered voluntary.”
Mr Kushner’s presentation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting drew criticism after the Arabic title appeared backwards and disjointed. Critics argued that the proposal appeared to have been developed with little input from Arabic speakers, let alone Palestinians.
“Jared Kushner didn’t do focus groups with Palestinians in Gaza and say, ‘Aha, this is what I’ve determined to be their key needs and demands’ – he didn’t do that,” said Khaled Elgindy, an expert on US policy in the Middle East.
“The primary shapers of the US approach are what is in Israel’s interests and what is in our own interests, whether financial or political. Somewhere much further down the list is what is in the interests of Palestinians.
“So, Palestinians are essentially a non-factor when it comes to decision-making.”
Another official at a leading aid organisation said the Gaza “master plan” presented by Mr Kushner raised additional concerns. The blueprint divided residential areas into separate zones, linked by large tracts designated for parks, agriculture and recreational facilities.
“If you look at the way the Israelis conducted their ground operations, that design could facilitate future military incursions,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued military operations in Gaza despite the ceasefire reached in October. While the agreement largely halted large-scale fighting, Israeli forces have continued to carry out air strikes. According to Gaza health officials, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began.
Israeli troops have also moved beyond the agreed ceasefire boundary – known as the Red Line – expanding the area under direct Israeli control from 53 per cent of Gaza to at least 60 per cent, according to US officials.
Many of those killed were approaching areas near the evolving perimeter, officials said.
“They’re firing on people and saying they crossed the Red Line – the Red Line that the Israelis themselves have shifted,” a US official, speaking on background, told The National.
“There is concern that this new Red Line could become the permanent border between Gaza and Israel.”
