Gulf states, UN commit $7 billion to Gaza reconstruction; Five countries join US-led security force

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Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait will each contribute $1 billion towards Gaza's reconstruction, the countries' representatives at the 'Board of Peace' said Thursday.

The United Arab Emirates will provide $1.2 billion in funding for efforts to rebuild Gaza, Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed said the 'Board of Peace's' inaugural meeting on Thursday.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the US would provide $10 billion in funding for the 'Board of Peace'.

It was not immediately clear how much of the money will be earmarked for Gaza's reconstruction.

Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania have agreed to commit troops to the International Stabilisation Force slated to take control of Gaza, the US general leading the mission said at the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting. 

Indonesia, which will contribute 8,000 soldiers, will be the force's deputy commander, he said.

Two thousand Palestinians have applied to join a new police force in Gaza, senior Board of Peace official Nickolay Mladenov said at the organisation's inaugural meeting on Thursday.

Donors have committed $7 billion to reconstructing Gaza, US President Donald Trump said at the Board of Peace's inaugural meeting in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain are among the countries providing funds, Trump said.

The UN humanitarian agency will raise $ 2 billion.

The UN has put the cost of rebuilding the devastated territory at around $70 billion.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday there would be no reconstruction of war-shattered Gaza before the disarmament of Hamas, as the "Board of Peace" convened for its inaugural meeting in Washington.

"We agreed with our ally the US there will be no reconstruction of Gaza before the demilitarisation of Gaza," Netanyahu said during a televised speech at a military ceremony.

(AFP)

Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack that killed one Syrian government security officer and wounded another in eastern Syria, marking an escalation in the group's attacks against the country's new leadership.

The group said through its Amaq news agency that it carried out the attack on Wednesday in Raghib town in Deir Ezzor province. A Syrian security source confirmed the two targeted officers were brothers.

The incident marks the fourth attack claimed by IS against Syrian government forces, following an assault in the Suweida desert in southern Syria in May and two attacks on security patrols in Aleppo and Idlib in December.

The attack comes amid a rise in the group’s operations in Syria. Last December, IS targeted a mosque in the central city of Homs with an explosive device, killing eight people and wounding 18.

(Reuters)

The US is planning to build a sprawling military base in Gaza to host the multinational security force slated to take over security in the territory, according to documents obtained by The Guardian.

The base will be built over more than 350 acres in the south of the strip and host up to 5,000 people.

The US is hoping to make progress establishing the so-called International Stabilisation Force when member states of Trump's 'Board of Peace' meet in Washington later today.

The head of the Palestinian technocratic committee formed to handle day-to-day governance of Gaza, Ali Shaath, was in Washington Thursday to attend the inaugural "Board of Peace" meeting, two Palestinian officials told AFP.

"Ali Shaath... arrived in Washington at dawn today to participate in the Washington meeting of the Board of Peace," a source familiar with the committee told AFP.

"Shaath is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining the general framework of his plan for the first 100 days. He is accompanied by the committee's official in charge of the finance portfolio," the source added.

A committee member confirmed to AFP that Shaath had arrived "following an invitation he received yesterday to attend the Washington meeting".

Around two dozen world leaders and senior officials have travelled to Washington for the meeting, which was set up after the Trump administration, along with Qatar and Egypt, negotiated a ceasefire in October to halt two years of war in Gaza.

(AFP)

Germany's military has "temporarily" moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of "escalating tensions in the Middle East," a German defence ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday.

Dozens of German soldiers had been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region.

"Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site," the spokesman said.

The spokesman did not specify the source of the tensions, but US President Donald Trump has ordered a major build-up of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman said the German redeployment away from Erbil was "closely coordinated with our multinational partners".

Gaza's Ministry of Health has said that in the last 24 hours, two Palestinians have been killed and four others wounded by Israeli forces, with the number of people killed since the ceasefire began in October rising to 611.

Russia called for restraint on Thursday amid growing tensions over a possible US attack on Iran, and as Moscow and Tehran staged naval drills that the Kremlin said were scheduled and should not be a cause for alarm.

The United States has massively built up its forces in the Middle East and President Donald Trump has warned Iran to make a deal with Washington, hinting at military action.

Moscow and Iran were holding navy drills in the Sea of Oman Thursday.

"These are planned exercises and they are agreed upon in advance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Russia continues to develop relations with Iran and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and prudence" he added.

Moscow was calling for "political and diplomatic means to be given absolute priority in resolving various issues", Peskov said.

(AFP)

Hawkish pro-Israel US Senator Lindsey Graham has claimed that the decision to attack Iran has already been made.

"All these ships don't come here simply because the weather is nice at this time of year," he said in an interview with Sky News Arabia published Thursday.

The US has enacted its biggest military buildup in the region since it invaded Iraq in 2003, raising fears that Trump will soon order a large-scale attack on Iran as prospects for a nuclear deal falter.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk called on Thursday for all Polish citizens to leave Iran, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action against the Islamic republic.

"Everyone who is still in Iran must leave immediately, and under no circumstances should anyone plan to travel to that country," he said at a press conference.

He added that "the possibility of heated conflict is very real, and in a few, a dozen or several dozen hours, evacuation may no longer be an option".

This is the second time in recent months that the Polish government has called for its citizens to leave the country.

The US has been building up military forces near Iran, including warships, fighter jets, and refuelling aircraft, laying the foundation for a potentially sustained campaign against Iran - should Trump give the order.

(AFP)

The Trump administration has asked Board of Peace member states to announce how they will contribute to Gaza's reconstruction at the organisation's inaugural meeting in Washington later today.

Representatives of the more than two-dozen countries that have joined the board will deliver brief statements during the summit.

"We encourage statements that reaffirm your government's commitment to the Board of Peace; outline any financial, operational, or sector-specific contributions; signal support for Gaza's reconstruction, security architecture, and long-term prosperity," a document distributed to members obtained by Haaretz said.

The head of Doctors Without Borders in the Palestinian territories told AFP the charity would continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on 1 March, as a "pretext" to obstruct aid.

"For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can," Filipe Ribeiro told AFP in Amman, but said operations were already facing challenges.

"Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank," he said.

(AFP)

Palestinian journalists held in Israeli prisons from October 2023 to January 2026 have suffered "systematic abuse," according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report published Thursday.

Of 59 correspondents interviewed, "all but one reported being subjected to what they described as torture, abuse, or other forms of violence," the New York-based watchdog said in a statement.

CPJ director Jodie Ginsberg urged the international community to "take action" over the reports of abuse.

"The scale and consistency of these testimonies point to something far beyond isolated misconduct," she said.

The CPJ said journalists spoke of beatings, sexual violence, prolonged restraint in painful positions, and exposure to loud music, barking and bomb noises.

They also described unsanitary living conditions, medical neglect and food deprivation.

The CPJ said the interviewees lost 23.5 kilograms (52 pounds) on average while in detention.

(AFP)

Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said no country can deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by Etemad daily on Thursday.

"Iran's nuclear programme is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology."

The comments follow the second round of Oman-mediated talks on Tuesday after which both sides reported "progress".

(AFP and TNA staff)

Fears of a major US attack on Iran continued to climb on Thursday amid a huge military build-up in the Persian Gulf.

The US military has deployed its largest air presence in the region since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, setting the stage for a large-scale attack should last-ditch negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme falter.

US news media reported on Wednesday that Trump could soon order an attack, despite both sides reporting "progress" in nuclear talks on Tuesday.

Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills in the Sea of Oman on Thursday in a bid to deter any "unilateral action" in the region.

Israel's increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinians "raise concerns over ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations said Thursday.

The UN human rights office said the cumulative impact of Israel's military conduct during the war in Gaza, plus its blockade of the territory, had inflicted living conditions "increasingly incompatible with Palestinians' continued existence as a group in Gaza".

"Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza", the office said in a report.

"This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank."

(AFP)

Members of the controversial US-led Board of Peace will meet in Washington, DC, later today for an inaugural summit aimed at pushing ahead with the Trump administration's vision for post-war Gaza.

The meeting, which comes a month after the signing of the organisation's charter at Davos, is expected to focus on financing the vast reconstruction effort of the destroyed enclave, assembling a multinational security force, and holding together the ceasefire, which has been violated by Israel on almost a daily basis.