STORY: U.S. President Donald Trump will host a Board of Peace meeting on Thursday (February 19) in Washington, where he will announce that member states have pledged more than $5 billion for reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in Gaza, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that more than 20 countries would participate in the meeting, adding that member states had also committed to providing thousands of personnel for an international stabilization force for Gaza.

Leavitt said Trump would chair the first part of Thursday's meeting before departing Washington for a visit to Georgia.

Middle East experts Reuters spoke to before Thursday's meeting said "follow-through" from Trump is likely to be more important than the meeting itself.

"If he [Trump] loses that focus, this all breaks down," said David Satterfield, a former ambassador and current director of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. "He has to stay engaged. But he's shown an ability and a willingness to do so, so far."

Trump signed documents in Davos, Switzerland, on January 23 establishing the Board of Peace. The board's creation was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution as part of Trump's Gaza plan.

Israel and Hamas agreed to the plan last year with a ceasefire officially taking effect in October, although both sides have accused each other repeatedly of violating the ceasefire. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, more than 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops in the territory since the ceasefire began. Israel has said four of its soldiers have been killed by Palestinian militants in the same period.

While regional Middle East powers, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as major emerging nations such as Indonesia, have joined the board, global powers and traditional Western U.S. allies have been more cautious.

"The big question that is on the minds of a lot of these leaders right now, isn't really the technocratic, bureaucratic details of reconstruction, it's whether Donald Trump will serve as a restraining force on what Israel may or may not do next," said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute.

Under Trump's Gaza plan, which led to a fragile ceasefire in October, the board was meant to supervise Gaza's temporary governance. But Trump later said the board, with him as chair, would expand to tackle global conflicts. That has stirred concerns that the Board of Peace might try to resolve other conflicts around the world and compete with the United Nations.

Thursday's meeting is expected to focus solely on Gaza.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

VIDEO SHOWS: PREVIEW ANALYSIS OF THURSDAY'S BOARD OF PEACE MEETING FROM BRIAN KATULIS, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE, AND AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE, WHERE BOARD OF PEACE MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (FILE - JANUARY 22, 2026) (WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM - Access all)

2. BOARD OF PEACE MEMBERS ON STAGE, APPLAUDING

3. VARIOUS OF U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, ARRIVING ON STAGE, WALKING TO PODIUM

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"But, we're going to probably see some announcements of commitments of troops to the international security force, some financial commitments, both by the United States and other countries. But on all of those things, as an analyst of the Middle East, but also of someone who watches closely what President Trump does in his foreign policy, what I'm looking for is not what happens at the meeting or what is said. But what the follow-through actually is, because oftentimes the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of then what's actually implemented is quite substantial."

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (FILE - JANUARY 22, 2026) (WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM - Access all)

5. TRUMP SITTING DOWN WITH BAHRAIN’S MINISTER OF THE PRIME MINISTER’S COURT, SHAIKH ISA BIN SALMAN BIN HAMAD AL KHALIFA, AND MOROCCO’S FOREIGN MINISTER, NASSER BOURITA (BAHRAIN AND MOROCCO HAVE AGREED TO JOIN BOARD), SIGNING DECLARATION FOR THE BOARD OF PEACE CHARTER

6. PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA, JAVIER GERARDO MILEI, AND ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER, NIKOL PASHINYAN, SIGNING DOCUMENTS, HOLDING UP FOR MEDIA (ARGENTINA AND ARMENIA HAVE AGREED TO JOIN BOARD)

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

''So five billion [dollars in funding commitments] is not even close [compared to the need], and it doesn't even answer the bigger question that many of the Arab countries, I know Israel's not sending their top leader, but the big question that is on the minds of a lot of these leaders right now, isn't really the technocratic, bureaucratic details of reconstruction, it's whether Donald Trump will serve as a restraining force on what Israel may or may not do next."

GAZA CITY, GAZA (FILE - FEBRUARY 6, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. PEOPLE STANDING IN STREET AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE ON FOUR-STORY BUILDING

9. VARIOUS OF DESTRUCTION

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 4, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

10. TRUMP AND ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU POSING FOR PICTURES IN OVAL OFFICE

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"A lot of the pieces just don't seem to fit together and we don't know what the actual operational plan is. Meaning, even if they get these commitments, will these troops in any form or fashion, cross over from what is known as the Green Zone into sort of populated Gaza where Hamas has the weapons?''

12. WHITE FLASH

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"And like their leaders [Hamas] are signaling that essentially they would not be the same force as they are without their guns. So the question on the ISF, to circle back to it, is: Would they really be charged to do that? Would Moroccans or Indonesians, or whomever ends up being on the list that's announced tomorrow, do that [go into Hamas-controlled areas], or is this more performative and symbolic?"

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT (FILE-OCTOBER 13, 2025) (REUTERS – Access all) (MUTE)

14. PRIME MINISTER OF KUWAIT, SHEIKH AHMAD AL-ABDULLAH AL-AHMAD AL-SABAH, WALKING INTO SUMMIT VENUE (KUWAIT HAS JOINED BOARD)

15. AL-SABAH POSING FOR PHOTOS WITH EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT, ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI / SHAKING HANDS

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

16. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"When it comes down to it, this is a tough, thorny problem. And I think ultimately, I don't want to sound too skeptical, but it sounds like a lot of bells and whistles, when the reality is, is like the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces] is still going to maintain its own equities and continue to strike in different places. So, I don't know, nobody's really answered those questions of how does the IDF pull back? Is there enough trust and confidence in their own security?

17. WHITE FLASH

18. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"And the key missing link in all of this, sorry, that the big gap between Israel and the United States on the one hand versus most of the Arab world, especially the parts of the Arab world that will be expected to be the ATMs [funding Gaza's reconstruction], mostly, is this notion of a two-state solution."

19. WHITE FLASH

20. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE SENIOR FELLOW, BRIAN KATULIS, SAYING:

"Countries, especially Saudi Arabia, as a dominant power that Trump hopes to bring into a normalization accord with Israel: It's not happening without some sort of pathway (to statehood) because Saudi Arabia along with France and a number of other countries advocated for a meaningless symbolic recognition of a state of Palestine, but it is a genuine demand of where the consensus is in the Arab world. It's where Egypt's been, it's where Jordan is."

21. WHITE FLASH

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

22. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:

"There needs to be a continued focus on practical humanitarian support for the 1.8 or 1.9 million Gazans living there. That means no interruption in the current supply of food and a dramatic increase in the availability of shelter and medical care. Food is being managed more efficiently than it has been at any point in the last two years plus. But shelter is still very deficient and medical care is very deficient. So they need to move ahead, but above all, do no harm. No changes which disrupt the current ability to mitigate malnutrition, chronic wasting and other food related problems. Don't mess it up by trying something new."

23. WHITE FLASH

24. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:

"Well, I think the reason that other major international players, the EU and others, are not joining, is not because of Gaza, because the Board of Peace does have an endorsement Gaza-related from the Security Council. It is that broader mission, as President Trump has articulated for the Board of Peace, which I think has led many in the international community to hold off with caution. The Vatican was the most recent of those entities.''

WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - SEPTEMBER 25, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

25. TURKISH PRESIDENT, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SPEAKING DURING MEETING WITH TRUMP IN OVAL OFFICE (TURKEY HAS JOINED BOARD)

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT (FILE - OCTOBER 13, 2025) (U.S. NETWORK POOL - No use USA)

26. TRUMP AND EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT, ABDEL FATTAH AL-SISI, POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS AT START OF MEETING / TRUMP AND SISI SITTING DOWN (EGYPT HAS JOINED BOARD)

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

27. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:

''That is Turkey and Qatar want to be seen, Egypt wants to be seen, as having an ongoing role with respect to the future of Gaza. They want to on the Board of Peace, not just because it builds or solidifies or sustains a relationship with President Trump, that's all true and good - but also because separate from that, they have long seen a strategic objective in a greater hand in Gaza."

28. WHITE FLASH

29. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:

''The administration is looking at a progressive, gradual approach to disarmament or decommissioning of Hamas, focusing on the weapons that are capable of directly threatening Israel right now, the standoff weaponry, and then moving from that onto other forms of what we would consider personal or sidearms."

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 6, 2025) (UNRESTRICTED POOL - Access all)

30. TRUMP SPEAKING DURING MEETING

31. KAZAKHSTAN PRESIDENT, KASSYM-JOMART TOKAYEV, SPEAKING (KAZAKHSTAN HAS JOINED BOARD)

HOUSTON, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

32. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMBASSADOR DAVID SATTERFIELD, DIRECTOR OF THE BAKER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AT RICE UNIVERSITY, SAYING:

"If he [Trump] loses that focus, this all breaks down. He has to stay engaged. But he's shown an ability and a willingness to do so, so far."

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 18, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

33. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE, WHERE BOARD OF PEACE MEETING WITH TAKE PLACE