By Adam Muro
- United States President Donald Trump will host the inaugural meeting of his so-called “Board of Peace” today.
- Representatives from member nations will assemble in Washington, DC to announce strategies and funding for the reconstruction of Gaza.
Gaza death toll exceeds 75,000 as independent data verify loss
The true human cost of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip has far exceeded previous official estimates, with independent research published in the world’s leading medical journals verifying more than 75,000 “violent deaths” by early 2025.
The findings, emerging from a landmark series of scientific papers, suggest that administrative records from the Gaza Ministry of Health (MoH) represent a conservative “floor” rather than an overcount, and provide a rigorous bedrock to the scale of Palestinian loss.
At least 72,063 people have been confirmed killed according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza until February 16.
Read more here.
Civil defence teams search for the bodies of the Salem family under the rubble of their home [AFP]What we know about the ‘Board of Peace’ meeting
- President Trump will host the first meeting of his so-called “Board of Peace” as questions over Gaza’s reconstruction and Hamas’s disarmament weigh heavily amid ongoing Israeli attacks.
- Trump will address the group of signatories at the Donald J Trump US Institute of Peace, which the president recently renamed, and announce that those who joined the board had raised $5bn for the reconstruction.
- Senior US officials quoted by the Reuters news agency said that Trump will also announce countries that are planning to send troops to Gaza as part of an International Stabilization Force.
- Delegations from 47 countries are expected to attend. United Nations Security Council members, such as France, Britain, Russia and China, are not expected to attend. While the European Union has declined a seat on the board, the European Commission will send observers.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” meeting for the first time.
The meeting comes as Israel continues its genocidal war on Gaza, with raids and arrests taking place across the occupied West Bank.
Stay with us as we bring you all the latest news and developments from the meeting, as well as what’s happening on the ground in Palestine.
