In a notable development, former President Donald Trump has unveiled the formation of a “Board of Peace” aimed at governing the Gaza Strip, marking a significant step in the United States’ ongoing peace initiative between Israel and Hamas. This initiative, part of a comprehensive 20-point peace plan, involves establishing an international transitional body dedicated to the redevelopment of Gaza. Trump himself will lead and chair this board, collaborating with key global figures such as Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN envoy to the Middle East, who will act as a liaison with the newly formed Palestinian-run National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). Although the complete roster of board members remains undisclosed, sources like the Times of Israel have indicated that the U.S. has garnered commitments from countries like Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany to participate. According to a U.S. official, Trump personally selected the invitees, and invitations were extended broadly, receiving a highly positive response.

On Thursday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform, promising that the remaining board members would be announced soon. He confidently declared it to be “the greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled.” The Trump administration is gearing up to convene the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace during the World Economic Forum in Davos later this week. As part of the second phase of the peace plan, efforts will focus on the “complete demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza,” emphasizing the disarmament of unauthorized personnel, according to Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. Despite Hamas’s agreement in October to transfer governance to a technocratic committee, the challenge of disarming the group—especially after its regrouping following a tentative ceasefire—remains unresolved.

In his statement, Witkoff expressed the U.S. expectation for full compliance from Hamas, including the immediate return of the last deceased Israeli hostage, identified as Ran Gvili. He cautioned that failure to comply would result in “serious consequences.” This message was echoed by President Trump on his Truth Social account, where he insisted, “Hamas must IMMEDIATELY honor its commitments, including the return of the final body to Israel and proceed without delay to full Demilitarization.” He stressed, “The people of Gaza have suffered long enough. The time is NOW.” Meanwhile, a U.S. official briefing journalists acknowledged the ongoing effort to reconcile differences between Israel and Hamas, noting that Israel remains skeptical about Hamas’s willingness to disarm and the Palestinian people’s desire for peace.

‘The goal here is to create the alternative to Hamas that wants that peace, figure out how to empower them,’ the official said, referring to the new committee of Palestinian technocrats as a new ‘government’ for Gaza. ‘And obviously, now that we have this government, we will be engaging in conversations: with Hamas on the next phase, which is demilitarization; with Israel, on what amnesty program can be given to Hamas if they do this.’ The Palestinian body will have 15 members and will be led by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, according to a joint statement by mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. It will also include the head of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce, Ayed Abu Ramadan, and Omar Shamali, who has worked for the Palestine Telecommunications Company, Paltel, Palestinian sources said. They said the list would further include Sami Nasman, a retired senior Palestinian Authority security officer and a longtime critic of Hamas. Nasman, a member of Abbas’s Fatah movement, is originally from Gaza but has since 2007 been living in the West Bank.

The committee will now be responsible for handling Gaza’s day-to-day management, including sanitation, infrastructure and education. Both Hamas and the Palestinian National Authority, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have endorsed the list of technocratic committee members, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said. In a radio interview, Shaath said that the committee would focus first on providing urgent relief for Gaza, including the provision of housing for displaced Palestinians, many of whom are living in makeshift tent shelters amid the rubble. ‘If I bring bulldozers and push the rubble into the sea, and make new islands, new land, I can win new land for Gaza and at the same time clear the rubble. This won’t take more than three years,’ Shaath told a West Bank radio station. A 2025 UN report, however, found that rebuilding Gaza’s shattered homes could drag on for many decades. In the meantime, Hamas leaders and other Palestinian factions are meeting in Cairo to discuss the second phase of the peace plan as members of the technocratic Palestinian committee meet with Mladenov.

Egyptian sources said the talks with Hamas will now focus on the group’s disarmament. Further Israeli withdrawals within Gaza are tied to disarmament, though Hamas has said it will give up its weapons only once there is a Palestinian state amid ongoing Israeli air strikes in the region. Yet leaders on both sides seem optimistic. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called the announcement on the second phase of the plan an ‘important positive development’ and said they are ‘fully prepared to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip’ to the NCAG. He added, though, that they demand the US ‘compel’ Israel to ‘fulfill the requirements of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and move towards the second phase.’ Similarly, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday the return of Gvili ‘is a top priority.’ ‘Hamas is required to meet the terms of the agreement to exert 100 percent effort for the return of the fallen hostages, down to the very last one, Ran Gvili, a hero of Israel,’ the prime minister’s office posted on X.

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority welcomed Trump’s effort to move ahead with the Gaza phased plan, in a statement posted on X by Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al-Sheikh, and voiced support for the committee. Sheikh said institutions in Gaza should be linked to those run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, ‘upholding the principle of one system, one law and one legitimate weapon.’ Representatives from Egypt, Turkey and Qatar also released a joint statement saying they ‘welcome the formation’ of the NCAG, which they said is an ‘important development that will contribute to strengthening efforts aimed at consolidating stability and improving the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.’