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Trump Tells First Meeting of Board of Peace that $7 billion Raised for Gaza

US President Donald Trump speaking in Washington - AFP
US President Donald Trump speaking in Washington - AFP
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Trump Tells First Meeting of Board of Peace that $7 billion Raised for Gaza

US President Donald Trump speaking in Washington - AFP
US President Donald Trump speaking in Washington - AFP

US President Donald Trump told the first meeting of his Board of Peace on Thursday that $7 billion has been contributed to a Gaza reconstruction fund that aims to rebuild the enclave once Hamas disarms, an objective that is far from becoming a reality.

The disarmament of Hamas militants and accompanying withdrawal of Israeli troops, the size of the reconstruction fund and the flow of humanitarian aid to the war-battered populace of Gaza are among the major questions likely to test the effectiveness of the board in the weeks and months ahead.

In a flurry of announcements at the end of a long, winding speech, Trump said the United States will make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. He said contributing nations had raised $7 billion as an initial down payment for Gaza reconstruction.

Trump first proposed the board last September when he announced his plan to end Israel's war in Gaza. He later made clear the board's remit would be expanded beyond Gaza to tackle other conflicts worldwide.

Trump also said FIFA will raise $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza and that the United Nations will chip in $2 billion for humanitarian assistance.

TRUMP SAYS ANY IRAN DEAL MUST BE MEANINGFUL, PROSPECTS SHOULD BE CLEAR IN 10 DAYS

The Board of Peace includes Israel but not Palestinian representatives and Trump's suggestion that the Board could eventually address challenges beyond Gaza has stirred anxiety that it could undermine the UN's role as the main platform for global diplomacy and conflict resolution.

"We're going to strengthen the United Nations," Trump said, trying to assuage his critics. "It's really very important."

The meeting came as Trump threatens war against Iran and has embarked on a massive military buildup in the region in case Tehran refuses to give up its nuclear program.

Trump said he should know in 10 days whether a deal is possible. "We have to have a meaningful deal," he said.

The event had the feel of a Trump campaign rally, with music blaring from his eclectic playlist from Elvis Presley to the Beach Boys. Red Trump hats were given to participants.

Senior US officials said Trump will also announce that several nations are planning to send thousands of troops to participate in an International Stabilization Force that will help keep the peace in Gaza when it eventually deploys.

Hamas, fearful of Israeli reprisals, has been reluctant to hand over weaponry as part of Trump's 20-point Gaza plan that brought about a fragile ceasefire last October in the two-year Gaza war.

Trump said he hoped use of force to disarm Hamas would not be necessary. He said Hamas had promised to disarm and it "looks like they're going to be doing that, but we'll have to find out."

 

 

 

 

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Arab World

Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
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Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo

Director-General of Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management Mahmoud Khleifat refuted reports on Sunday that Jordan’s Aqaba seaport has been evacuated due to unspecified threats.

“Aqaba seaport is working normally; it has not been evacuated”, he said.

Earlier, the US embassy in Amman said that Jordanian authorities evacuated the airport and the seaport in the coastal city of Aqaba, citing a threat that was not immediately specified.

"Due to a specific and credible threat, Jordanian authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba. We strongly advise all Americans to refrain traveling to either the airport or seaport," the embassy said in a statement.

Arab World

Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Sunday, as an AFP journalist saw the structure's entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.

The incident came during a period of increased attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.

The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.

Rabie said the settlers fled after villagers emerged from their homes, adding that local volunteers managed to extinguish the flames before they spread further.

AFP photographs showed a child and an elderly man inspecting the charred entrance and windows of the mosque, where part of a prayer carpet had also been burned.

Rabie said the dairy factory, run by women from the Masafer Yatta community, suffered extensive damage.

"We thank God that this attack did not turn into a tragedy with loss of life," he said.

The Israeli police said it deployed officers to the village last night "after a report of suspects who caused damage at the site, including a vehicle that was set on fire, damage to the door of a prayer structure, and graffiti sprayed on walls."

"The investigation into the circumstances of the incident... is still ongoing."

"The settlers' attack took place in full view of the Israeli army," Palestinian activist Osama Makhamra told AFP, noting that an Israeli military watchtower stands close to the mosque that was set ablaze.

Rabie, however, said Israeli army, police and fire service personnel arrived in the village about half an hour after the attack and inspected the damage to the mosque and other property.

The Palestinian religious affairs ministry condemned the attack.

In a statement, the ministry described the arson as "a full-fledged terrorist act", accusing Israel's "extremist occupation government" of encouraging settler violence in an effort to displace Palestinians from Masafer Yatta and turn the conflict into "a religious war".

In a recent report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank had reached "unprecedented" levels, averaging six attacks per day that resulted in casualties or property damage.

Excluding East Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Arab World

Eight Peshmerga Forces Wounded in Iranian Strike Targeting Northern Iraqi Kurdistan

A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
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Eight Peshmerga Forces Wounded in Iranian Strike Targeting Northern Iraqi Kurdistan

A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS

Eight members of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were wounded on Sunday in a drone attack targeting the headquarters of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, a Kurdish opposition group, in Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Security sources also told Reuters that an attack drone was shot down near the US consulate in Erbil.

Kurdish media outlet Rudaw quoted Adib Khaledian, a member of the leadership of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, as saying that a drone strike early on Sunday targeted the party's Jamshar headquarters near the Darashakran camp in Erbil province, wounding eight Peshmerga fighters.

He added that "four of the Peshmerga fighters were seriously wounded," and said that "surveillance drones are constantly flying over our positions and gathering information," according to the German news agency.

According to the network, the force has been targeted several times by Iran, with previous attacks killing two Peshmerga fighters and wounding 26 others.