Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have been invited by US President Donald Trump to join his ‘Board of Peace’, as the White House seeks to advance the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
A draft charter for the organisation, to be chaired by Mr Trump, has been sent to a number of world leaders, including Canada’s Mark Carney, Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentina’s Javier Milei.
The number of countries invited is reportedly in the dozens, though the exact figure remains unclear.
According to the draft document, revealed by Bloomberg, each participating country would be represented by its leader and limited to a term of “no more than three years”.
Continued membership beyond that term would require a financial contribution of $US1 billion ($1.49 billion).
The US-brokered agreement includes plans to rebuild Gaza in coming years. (Reuters: Haseeb Alwazeer)
The draft charter does not specifically mention Gaza, suggesting President Trump intends for the organisation’s scope to extend beyond the conflict. It also does not detail how membership fees would be used.
Decisions would be made by a vote of members, subject to the approval of the chair, Donald Trump.
Netanyahu criticises lack of Israeli input
The development comes as the layers of bureaucracy surrounding the future of Gaza become clearer, with the White House stating the second phase of the ceasefire in the strip has begun.
The Board of Peace will be supported by an executive board including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Mr Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President of the World Bank Ajay Banga.
Former UN official Nickolay Mladenov will serve as ‘High Representative for Gaza’.
His work, alongside a Palestinian technocratic government governing Gaza, will be supported by the Gaza Executive Board.
The composition of that board has been criticised by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the announcement was made without coordination with his government.
Gaza’s infrastructure was largely destroyed by intense Israeli bombardment following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. (Reuters: Mahmoud Issa)
Israel objects to the inclusion of Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Qatari diplomat Ali Al-Thawadi, both of whom have been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza. Mr Netanyahu said he would raise his concerns with the United States.
One October 7 hostage yet to be returned
The Palestinian-led technocratic government, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, met for the first time in Cairo over the weekend.
Hamas is expected to transfer governance of the strip to the committee as part of the deal.
Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of breaching the ceasefire in Gaza.
Palestinian health authorities report more than 460 people have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire began on October 10 last year, with over 1,200 injured.
Israel accuses Hamas of attacking Israeli troops and delaying the return of the remains of Israeli hostages.
When the ceasefire was agreed, there were 20 living and 28 dead Israeli hostages in Gaza. Now, only one remains unaccounted for: police officer Ran Gvili.
Hundreds gathered on Saturday night outside Mr Gvili’s former school near Be’er Sheva to show support and demand his return before ‘Phase Two’ begins.
“It’s no coincidence that Ran is the last one,” his father Itzik told the crowd.
“From the moment we learned he had been taken, we said he would put everyone else first — just as he always did.
“On October 7 and throughout his life, Ran brought people together across every divide.
“Today, the unity we see here, with people from right and left standing together for him, reflects exactly who Ran is and the country he dreamed of — a country built on care, connection, and love.”
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