New York: US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace announced a $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan on Wednesday at a meeting of its members and stakeholders, in an effort meant to span over six months.
But the presentation in New York comes as world leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan have taken aim at the humanitarian situation in Gaza this week, calling for action to end the conflict with Israel.
Top officials are gathered in the city this week for the UN General Assembly.
Also Read: Macron denounces Trump's Gaza diplomacy as spectacle of shame in UN farewell
Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a massive response. Since then, the Palestinian territory has been devastated by Israeli airstrikes.
Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza of the Board of Peace, urged for backing of its plan.
But he acknowledged that discussions with Israel are not easy ahead of elections in the country, noting that conditions are politically sensitive.
"Given the complexity of what we're dealing with," he insisted that progress was being made.
Also present at Wednesday's gathering were Trump's roving envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The proposal involves 66 projects, covering temporary housing and other efforts towards economic recovery.
Also Read: Ed Sheeran calls Gaza situation 'unjustifiable' after Macklemore tour controversy
UN figures show that by October 2025, Israeli strikes had left 84 percent of all structures damaged or destroyed.
Trump is the chairman of the Board of Peace, which was initially designed to oversee a Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction following the war between Hamas and Israel.
Israel has insisted that it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the unprecedented attack.
