n its report, the board said that 85% of Gaza buildings and infrastructure had been destroyed and that an estimated 70 million tonnes of rubble would need to be cleared. [Getty]
The gap between funding pledges and disbursements for Donald Trump’s Gaza rebuilding plan must be closed urgently, the US president’s “Board of Peace” has said in a report, which identifies a potential cash crunch in a plan estimated to cost $70 billion.
Reuters reported in April that the board had only received a small fraction of the $17 billion pledged by members for Gaza, preventing the president from moving ahead with his plan.
The board denied the report, saying in a statement that it was an “execution-focused organisation that calls capital as needed” and that there were “no funding constraints.”
But in a 15 May report to the United Nations Security Council, viewed by Reuters on Tuesday, the board said that “the gap between commitment and disbursement must be closed with urgency”.
“Funds committed but not yet disbursed represent the difference between a framework that exists on paper and one that delivers on the ground for the people of Gaza,” it added.
The board called on countries that signed up for Trump’s board and others to make contributions without delay, and urged “those Member States that have made pledges to accelerate disbursement processes.”
The report did not say how much money it had received or how large the gap was, though it said the amount pledged remained at $17 billion. The Board of Peace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are among the states that have pledged funds to the board. Others include Morocco, Uzbekistan and Kuwait.
Gaza’s reconstruction after more than two and a half years of Israeli genocidal war is expected to cost more than $70 billion. It is a key element of Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future, but it has been held up as the plan has appeared to stall.
Despite an October ceasefire, Israel has occupied a large swath of Gaza while continuing to conduct air strikes that are killing Palestinian civilians. According to the health ministry in Gaza, 880 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the alleged ceasefire began in October 2025.
In its report, the board said that 85% of Gaza buildings and infrastructure had been destroyed and that an estimated 70 million tonnes of rubble would need to be cleared.
Many states are hesitant to finance Gaza’s reconstruction through Trump’s board over transparency and oversight concerns and would rather fund efforts through traditional institutions like the United Nations, European and Asian officials say.
Under the board’s charter, member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they each pay $1 billion to fund the board’s activities and secure permanent membership. It is unclear whether any state has paid the fee.
