Axios: White House plans Gaza Board of Peace leaders meeting

The White House is planning a leaders’ meeting of the Gaza “Board of Peace” on February 19, according to a US official and diplomats from four countries involved in the initiative.

The meeting is intended to advance implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and to mobilise international funding for post-war reconstruction efforts. 

“It will be the first Board of Peace meeting and a fundraising conference for Gaza reconstruction,” a US official told Axios.

Planning for the summit remains at an early stage and could still change. The White House declined to comment publicly on the plans.

According to sources, the Trump administration began reaching out to dozens of countries on February 6 to invite their leaders and coordinate logistics. The meeting is expected to take place at the Institute of Peace, which was recently rebranded in President Donald Trump’s name.

“Nothing has been confirmed yet, but the administration is planning it and has started checking which leaders are able to attend,” one source said.

Israeli officials indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House on February 18, one day before the proposed gathering.

The Board of Peace currently consists of 27 members and is chaired by President Trump. It was authorised by the UN Security Council to oversee the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire and to work on governance and reconstruction. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev participated in the board’s unveiling during the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 22, where he and other world leaders and officials signed the Board of Peace Charter.

On the ground, Israel has agreed to reopen the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, though only a limited number of Palestinians have been permitted to cross. A Palestinian technocratic government has been formed but has not yet entered Gaza and is operating from Egypt.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration and other mediators—Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye—are in the early stages of negotiations aimed at reaching a demilitarisation agreement with Hamas. Israel has stated that without demilitarisation, it will not withdraw its forces from Gaza or allow reconstruction to proceed.

By Sabina Mammadli