White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday that $5 billion pledged by member states of the Gaza Peace Council will be directed towards the reconstruction of Gaza.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of council members in Washington on 18 February, Leavitt said more than 20 countries are expected to attend. She added that the United States would release a full list of participating nations.
“The president will be opening the meeting tomorrow with remarks and will sort of formally be chairing the meeting at the beginning before he departs for Georgia,” she said, describing the funding as a major investment in rebuilding Gaza.
Leavitt characterised the initiative as a significant step forward, saying the administration was already making progress towards what she described as an ambitious reconstruction plan. She referred to earlier discussions in Davos, where a detailed presentation outlining the vision for Gaza’s rebuilding and humanitarian efforts was delivered.
According to Leavitt, security arrangements will form a central part of the upcoming discussions. She said achieving stability on the ground is essential before broader reconstruction and development can take place.
“First, you must achieve security to get to prosperity,” she said.
The Gaza Peace Council was formed under a broader plan introduced in 2025 to co-ordinate ceasefire implementation and post-conflict reconstruction. The board was formally established during a charter-signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 22 January 2026, where U.S. President Donald Trump ratified the charter alongside founding members.
Partially endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 in relation to its Gaza mandate, the council comprises around 26 founding member states, although some sources report up to 35 participants or signatories. The group includes countries from the Middle East, Asia, parts of Europe and Latin America.
Observers have noted that the council’s structure - which operates with limited formal UN oversight despite Security Council backing for certain functions - has raised questions about its institutional independence. No new official statement from the United Nations has addressed recent concerns regarding the council’s autonomy or its relationship to existing UN-led processes.
A U.S.-backed ceasefire has been in place in Gaza since October 10, halting Israel’s two-year war that has killed more than 72,000 people - mostly women and children - and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
Despite the ceasefire, Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli forces have committed hundreds of violations through shelling and gunfire, killing 603 Palestinians and injuring 1,618 others.
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according t...
Indian police detained more than 2,000 protesters in Delhi on Saturday as authorities blocked a planned demonstration calling for the resignation o...
At least 12 people, including three children, have been killed in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, a day after U.S. Presiden...
Leaders of countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have agreed to hold coordinated population censuses around 2030. They took the decision at the CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Awaza, Turkmenistan on Friday, media reported.
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Britain and Israel have reached a temporary compromise over the future of the British Consulate General in East Jerusalem, easing a diplomatic dispute that had threatened to further strain relations between the two countries.
South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday “for her efforts to promote peace and international law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (9 October) escalating tensions with European allies and potentially targeting companies that provide services to the tribunal. The move came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Turkic states are assessing the feasibility of passport-free travel between countries using national ID cards, Kürşad Zorlu, the Deputy Chairman of Türkiye’s ruling AK Party said on Saturday.
European Union measures suspending import duties on 80 per cent of Armenian exports to the bloc came into effect on Saturday. The temporary liberalisation measures are aimed at supporting Armenian producers and exporters following trade restrictions imposed on the country's products by Russia.
Georgia is enjoying one of its biggest and highest-quality grape harvests since independence. By 6 October, growers in the country's main wine-producing region, Kakheti, had delivered 182,210 tonnes of grapes, with 99 per cent rated medium or high quality, despite recent protests over prices.
Uzbekistan has unveiled plans to deepen economic ties with Central Asia and Azerbaijan, proposing shared artificial intelligence infrastructure, a critical minerals alliance and a regional trade strategy extending to 2035.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment