The White House is planning the first leaders’ meeting of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Peace Board” on Gaza on February 19, Axios reported, citing a U.S. official and diplomats from four countries that are members of the board.
Plans for the meeting— which would also serve as a fundraising conference for Gaza’s reconstruction—are still in early stages and could change, Axios said.
The meeting is expected to take place at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. The report also noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House on February 18, one day before the planned meeting, Reuters reports, as cited by Gazeta Express.
The White House and the U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The Trump administration began contacting countries that have joined the board on Friday to invite their leaders to the inaugural meeting.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the government is planning it and has begun considering which leaders may attend,” a source told Axios.
The board of the new international organization currently has 27 members and is chaired by Donald Trump.
At the end of January, Trump established the board, which he says aims to resolve global conflicts—raising concerns among many experts that such a body could undermine the United Nations.
Governments worldwide have reacted cautiously to Trump’s invitation to join the initiative. While some U.S. allies in the Middle East have joined, many traditional Western allies have so far stayed away.
A UN Security Council resolution adopted in mid-November authorized the board and cooperating countries to establish an international stabilization force in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire began in October under a Trump-backed plan signed by Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Under Trump’s Gaza plan, unveiled late last year, the board was intended to oversee Gaza’s interim governance. Trump later said its mandate would expand to address global conflicts.
Many human rights experts argue that a Trump-led board overseeing the affairs of a foreign territory resembles a colonial structure and have criticized the board for excluding Palestinian representation.
The fragile ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with more than 550 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since it began in October.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza since late 2023 has killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, triggered a hunger crisis, and displaced Gaza’s entire population internally.
Numerous human rights experts, scholars, and a UN investigation say this constitutes genocide. Israel describes its actions as self-defense following a late-2023 attack by Hamas-led militants that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
