Hamas said any discussions on Gaza must begin with a total halt to Israeli “aggression” as Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” maps out the territory’s future, with Israel insisting on the militants’ disarmament before reconstruction starts. But the board meeting offered no timeline for Hamas to lay down its weapons or for Israel’s army to withdraw from the shattered enclave. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told AFP that the Palestinian Islamist movement was open to international forces in the territory, but with caveats. The Board of Peace was established after the Trump administration, with longtime mediators Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of devastating war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. At the Board of Peace meeting on Thursday, Trump said several countries, mostly in the Gulf, had pledged more than seven billion dollars to rebuild the territory.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 21, 2026 13:48 UTC