The White House plans to hold a meeting with leaders of the Gaza Board of Peace, according to an Axios report on Saturday.
The meeting, set for February 19, will focus on raising money for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and on implementing the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace deal, the report stated, citing a US official and four diplomats from board member nations.
The report also noted that the plans for the meeting were “still in early stages and could still change,” and that the venue would be the Donald Trump Institute of Peace (formerly the USIP).
Axios also noted that the Trump administration has been trying to bring world leaders to this gathering, after failing to secure support from most Western allies for the board due to skepticism about its functioning.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the administration is planning it and has started checking which leaders are able to attend,” one source told Axios.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted the Board of Peace plan but has yet to sign the charter.
This comes as tensions rise between Israel and the Trump administration over the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.
While the situation in Gaza has improved over the last couple of weeks, with Israel reopening the Rafah crossing for civilian traffic, the government still demands that Hamas must be demilitarized for the ceasefire to be implemented.
However, the Trump administration has been pushing for Israel to implement phase two and begin the reconstruction of Gaza.
The government has signaled that the IDF will not withdraw from Gaza, and the reconstruction will not be approved until Hamas is disarmed.