Washington, 19 February 2026 (dpa/MIA) - The first meeting of US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace will be held in Washington on Thursday, with the focus on the Gaza Strip.

Trump has already said he'd present a multi-billion dollar package of humanitarian and reconstruction aid for the coastal strip, which was extensively destroyed during Israel's war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza.

He also intends to speak about the International Stabilization Force (ISF) at the meeting. The ISF is to provide international peacekeeping troops in the strip to maintain order.

Since the agreed ceasefire, Israel has controlled more than half of the coastal strip, with the remainder of the territory under Hamas control.

Trump's peace plan calls for Hamas to disarm, but the militia rejects that.

Trump announced the Board of Peace, which he chairs, in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The council is intended to resolve global conflicts.

Contrary to initial expectations, it is not exclusively dedicated to monitoring the Gaza peace process. Critics see the board as a competitor to the United Nations, which Trump routinely criticizes.

Many European countries, including Germany and France, refuse to participate in the board, which currently has about two dozen members, including Hungary, Israel, Belarus, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

Representatives from at least 20 countries are expected to attend the first meeting, according to advance information from US government circles.

The talks are to take place at the US Institute of Peace in Washington. The organization was recently renamed the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace.

Photo: MIA archive