WATCH LIVE: Trump hosts first peace council meeting as some US allies remain skeptical

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet Thursday with representatives of more than two dozen countries that have joined his peace council — many of which have chosen not to join — for an opening meeting that will focus on reconstruction and building an international stabilization force for the war-torn Gaza Strip, where a fragile ceasefire remains in place.

The meeting is expected to begin around 9 a.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

Trump announced ahead of the meeting that board members had pledged $5 billion for reconstruction, a small fraction of the estimated $70 billion needed to rebuild the Palestinian territories destroyed after two years of war. Members are expected to reveal the commitments of thousands of individuals to international stability and police forces in the region.

Read more: The UN Security Council holds a high-level meeting on Gaza ahead of the Trump Peace Council

“We have the greatest leaders in the world joining the peace council,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “I think he has the opportunity to be the most important board of any kind.”

The council was created as part of Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza. But since the October ceasefire, Trump’s vision for the council has changed, and he wants it to have a more ambitious remit — one that would not only complete the daunting task of establishing lasting peace between Israel and Hamas, but also help resolve conflicts around the world.

But ahead of the first board meeting, the Gaza ceasefire agreement remains fragile, and Trump’s expanded vision for it has raised concerns that the US president is looking to create a rival to the UN. Trump said earlier this week that he hoped the council would pressure the United Nations to “get to work.”

He watches: Trump reveals his vision for rebuilding Gaza and turning it into a coastal city

“The United Nations has great potential,” he said. “They did not live up to the potential.”

Some US allies remain skeptical

More than 40 countries and the European Union have confirmed they will send officials to Thursday’s meeting, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly. Germany, Italy, Norway and Switzerland are among more than a dozen countries that have not joined the council but are expected to attend as observers, the official said.

The UN Security Council held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ceasefire agreement and Israel’s efforts to expand its control in the West Bank. The UN session was originally scheduled to be held in New York on Thursday but was postponed after Trump announced the board would meet on the same date and it became clear that would complicate the travel plans of diplomats planning to attend the two meetings.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters earlier this week that “at the international level, it must above all be the United Nations that is managing these crises.” The Trump administration on Wednesday dismissed the Vatican’s concerns.

“This president has a very bold and ambitious plan and vision for rebuilding and rebuilding Gaza, and it is well underway thanks to the Peace Council,” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said. “This is a legitimate organization with dozens of member countries from all over the world.”

Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, also responded to skeptical allies, saying the council “doesn’t talk, it does.”

“We hear the chattering class criticizing the board structure as unconventional and unprecedented,” Waltz said. “Again, the old ways weren’t working.”

Questions about disarming Hamas

Central to Thursday’s discussions will be the establishment of an armed international stabilization force to maintain security and ensure the disarmament of the armed Hamas movement, a key demand of Israel and a cornerstone of the ceasefire agreement.

But so far, only Indonesia has shown a firm commitment to Trump on the proposed force. Hamas did not show a great deal of confidence in its willingness to move forward with the disarmament process. The administration “is under no illusions about the challenges of disarmament,” but was encouraged by what the mediators reported, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged to work closely with other leading Muslim countries that Trump called on “to join the effort to try to achieve lasting peace in Palestine.”

“We realize there are still hurdles to overcome, but my position at least is that we have to at least try, and we have to do the best we can,” he said during an event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, where he met with members of the business community.

On Thursday, the Gaza Executive Council, the council’s operational arm, is expected to issue updates on its efforts to create an effective government system and services for the Strip, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the broad outlines of the meeting.

In addition to Trump, the official said other speakers at the conference will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Executive Council High Representative Nikolai Mladenov, and Waltz.

Michael Hanna, director of the US program at the International Crisis Group, a non-profit group focused on conflict prevention, noted that the skepticism shown by some US allies is not unjustified.

“Without any clear mandate to expand its mandate beyond Gaza, it is not surprising that many US allies and partners chose to reject Trump’s offer to join the council,” Hanna said. “Instead, many of the countries most invested in Gaza’s future have joined in the hope of focusing US attention and encouraging Trump himself to use his influence and leverage with Israel.”

Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington, Farnoush Amiri at the United Nations and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed reporting.