Trump’s Gaza Plan Draws Global Backing One Year Later

One year has elapsed since President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, launching an ambitious peace framework designed to establish lasting stability across the region.

Since the ceasefire took effect and Trump’s 20-point peace plan was introduced, the initiative has attracted international backing, including support from some quarters that were once considered unlikely allies.

Josh Gruenbaum, a senior adviser to the Board of Peace, told News Outlet that the progress made over the past year was driven largely by Trump’s leadership and determination to pursue a negotiated end to the conflict.

“The unlock was somebody who came in, who really knew the file because they had the chance to study it and understand it,” Gruenbaum said. Trump, along with U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy for Peace Jared Kushner and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “created working relationships with regional actors with trust, overlaid with peace through strength.” The team also made clear to Hamas that the conflict would either end “the very hard way” or through a more dignified off-ramp offered by the 20-point plan, he said.

Gruenbaum said the strategy also involved “building consensus through the world, including through Europe, that this is the only game in town. This is the only pragmatic approach to make this thing stop.” He identified the Board of Peace’s close cooperation with the United Nations as another major source of leverage.

The United Nations formally endorsed the Board of Peace in November 2025 through Resolution 2803.

European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean and for Demography Dubravka Šuica said during a September high-level Board of Peace briefing that the bloc had assembled roughly $1 billion for Gaza’s early recovery. The funds will support projects with the UNDP and UNICEF, she said, adding that the effort would follow the priorities of the Board of Peace and the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, or NCAG.

The International Stabilization Force is also taking shape. Its mission will include training a future Gaza police service and supervising demilitarization. Kazakhstan, Morocco, Albania and Kosovo have committed to participating, while additional countries are reportedly being considered.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Oklahoma Highway Mystery Deepens After Eerie New Incident Near Site Where Noah Presgrove Was Found Dead

Under the Board of Peace’s proposed structure, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA, would have no role in Gaza’s future. The Board has repeatedly ruled out the agency’s involvement. Meanwhile, the USAID Office of the Inspector General is investigating more than 1,500 UNRWA employees over alleged ties to terrorist organizations.

In a recent post on X, the Board of Peace said it would work only with “trusted partners who deliver for the people of Gaza and contribute to a deradicalized Strip.” The group added that “UNRWA fails on those litmus tests.”

The framework has also won backing from unexpected figures. In a June Financial Times editorial, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton acknowledged that the plan was “not the one many of us would have drafted,” but said it was still “the only framework backed by sufficient leverage, political engagement and potential resources to move parties towards implementation.”

The BBC recently reported that the Board of Peace had secured approximately $18 billion in reconstruction pledges. A Board official told News Outlet that the next phase includes a six-month program featuring 66 recovery projects, from clearing rubble and unexploded ordnance to building temporary housing and dismantling tunnel infrastructure. The initiatives are projected to cost $2.45 billion, and bids have already been submitted for some of the work.

The coming year will bring significant challenges, particularly the complete demilitarization and deradicalization of Hamas in Gaza. Gruenbaum said the Board of Peace is approaching the task “realistic and sober,” while also describing the current moment as “historic” because it has obtained verbal commitments from Hamas and established a potential amnesty route for those who meet the requirements.

Gruenbaum argued that the 20-point framework represents Hamas’ strongest remaining option as shifting regional circumstances narrow its alternatives. Mediators are increasingly backing the Board of Peace, Tehran is occupied with its current war and Israel continues to exert pressure. Even so, he said, the Board continues to insist that all sides honor the ceasefire.

Gruenbaum said deradicalization will not be imposed through a U.S.-led, top-down campaign. Instead, the process will be handled by the NCAG, whose members, he noted, “have kids that have been brought up” under the existing UNRWA-run system and therefore understand the realities on the ground. The planned technocratic government, staffed by people with significant civil-service experience, would oversee tasks such as vetting teachers and screening individuals involved in civilian administration.

Gruenbaum celebrated the potential of bringing together the NCAG and Israeli authorities through the transformation of Gaza. “This is a monumental opportunity for the Palestinian people of Gaza where their governing body is going to be uniquely focused on delivering services for its constituents and if we could create this amazing relationship where we build trust between Israel and the NCAG, we deliver on both sides of the equation – security for Israel and freedom and a better life, self-determination and prosperity-building inside of Gaza. That’s a two-way trust-building system.”

Gruenbaum added that the successes in Gaza could lead to successes elsewhere. “Maybe these best practices get learned by the Palestinian Authority. Maybe Israel starts adding more trust with different people in the system. I think this is a huge moment in the history of the Middle East.”