Tony Blair, tony blair and global response as Board of Peace pledges $7bn
The US-led Board of Peace convened its inaugural meeting in Washington on Thursday and announced that member countries had contributed more than $7 billion toward a Gaza relief package; tony blair appears as a search term attached to this briefing. The pledge arrives amid broad concern over the scale of destruction in Gaza and disagreements about reconstruction conditions.
Responses and tony blair presence
Dozens of national delegations attended the first meeting in Washington. Several Western governments chose not to join the new body, and a number of founding members are governed by regimes described in recent commentary as repressive or authoritarian. That split has helped frame debate over the Board’s legitimacy and its relationship with existing international institutions.
Tony Blair and the Board’s stated aims
The Board outlined a second-phase plan that pairs the reconstruction of Gaza with the disarmament of Hamas. Organisers said the plan envisions an eventual transition to a new Palestinian police force and the assistance of an International Stabilisation Force. Key officials involved in the process said recruitment for a new transitional Palestinian police force has begun and that thousands applied within hours of the call for candidates.
Funding totals and reconstruction conditions
President-level remarks at the meeting emphasised that the pledged funds are intended as investments in stability. A group of countries named as contributors committed more than $7 billion to the relief package. Separately, the United Nations was said to allocate $2 billion specifically for humanitarian assistance, and a global sports body pledged $75 million for soccer-related projects in Gaza.
- Key takeaways: more than $7 billion pledged; UN estimates roughly $70 billion in damage; UN humanitarian contribution $2 billion, sports body $75 million.
Security conditions and immediate outlook
Leaders at the meeting reiterated that reconstruction is tied to demilitarisation. One senior official present stated there would be no reconstruction before Gaza is demilitarised. Organisers said the plan "looks like" disarmament will occur, while observers note there are few signs of Hamas relinquishing control in the Strip. The war’s initial trigger and its human toll were recited at the meeting: the armed attack that began hostilities resulted in roughly 1, 200 deaths and 251 people taken hostage, and subsequent military operations have produced a dramatically higher death toll cited by local authorities.
Officials at the inaugural session described Gaza’s economy and infrastructure as largely destroyed, with an international damage estimate placed at about $70 billion. That gap between immediate relief pledges and the scale of reconstruction needs framed the meeting’s central tension: how to marshal funds and who will set conditions for rebuilding.
Next steps and conditional scenarios
The Board intends to coordinate disarmament, security-sector formation and reconstruction planning. One named high representative involved with the Gaza effort noted recruitment has already begun for a new police force, but organisers emphasised the force must not be drawn from existing locally controlled security services without stringent vetting.
Looking ahead, the pace and scale of reconstruction hinge on several observable conditions: whether disarmament measures are implemented, how quickly vetted security personnel can be recruited and trained, and whether additional contributors step forward to bridge the gap between relief pledges and estimated reconstruction costs. If demilitarisation remains unresolved, reconstruction activity is likely to remain limited.
The inaugural meeting this month established the Board as a focal point for those planning Gaza’s next phase, while the split in international participation leaves open questions about the new body’s long-term role and the pathway to large-scale rebuilding.
