By Anietie Anii-Bassey
A tightly knit circle of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, alongside senior international figures and influential officials from the Middle East, has emerged as the driving force behind a sweeping U.S.-backed plan aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and reshaping the territory’s future governance.
The White House this week unveiled the membership of a newly formed Palestinian technocratic committee tasked with managing Gaza’s day-to-day civil affairs, as well as an executive committee of international experts who will oversee security, reconstruction and political coordination. Together, these bodies are meant to form the backbone of the second phase of a ceasefire framework that the administration says is now underway.
At the apex of the initiative sits what the White House has labeled the “Board of Peace,” a group of global leaders that will ultimately supervise the process. President Trump is expected to lead the board, though the administration has yet to disclose the full list of its members.
Despite that uncertainty, officials described the newly announced appointments as a significant step toward turning the ceasefire from a fragile pause in fighting into a durable political arrangement.
According to the administration, the second phase of the plan envisions the establishment of a functioning Palestinian administration in Gaza, the deployment of an international security force to guarantee the truce, the disarmament of Hamas, and the launch of a massive reconstruction effort in the devastated enclave.
The individuals selected for key roles reflect an effort to combine political influence, regional access and financial muscle, while maintaining leverage over both Israel and Hamas.
U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio occupies a central position in the initiative, placing America’s top diplomat squarely at the heart of negotiations and implementation. Working closely with him is Steve Witkoff, the White House’s Middle East envoy during Trump’s second term.
A real estate developer and longtime personal friend of the president, Witkoff was one of the principal architects of the ceasefire arrangement that took effect in October and remains deeply involved in shepherding the plan forward.
Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a veteran of his earlier Middle East diplomacy, has also returned to prominence. Kushner played a leading role in brokering the Abraham Accords during Trump’s first term, normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states.
His renewed involvement underscores the administration’s reliance on familiar figures who enjoy direct access to the president and longstanding ties across the region.
Adding an international dimension is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who brings decades of experience in Middle East diplomacy.
Blair, who led Britain from 1997 to 2007, later served as an envoy for a group of major powers seeking to mediate between Israel and the Palestinians. While that effort struggled to produce a breakthrough, Blair’s extensive network and familiarity with regional leaders are seen as assets in the current push.
Security on the ground will fall under the command of Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, who has been appointed to lead the International Stabilization Force, a multinational contingent designed to enforce and safeguard the ceasefire.
Jeffers previously headed U.S. special operations forces and played a role in overseeing the 2024 truce between Israel and Hezbollah, experience that the administration says will be critical in Gaza’s volatile environment.
Several senior Middle Eastern officials are also positioned as key players. Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, is viewed as a potentially pivotal interlocutor with Hamas, given Ankara’s strained ties with Israel but comparatively strong channels to the Islamist group.
Qatar’s Ali Al-Thawadi, a diplomat from a country that has served as one of the main mediators throughout the conflict, joins the effort alongside Egypt’s intelligence chief, Gen. Hassan Rashad. Egypt’s geographic proximity to Gaza and longstanding involvement in ceasefire talks give Cairo considerable influence over developments on the ground.
From the Gulf, United Arab Emirates Cabinet minister Reem Al-Hashimy is expected to play a prominent role in reconstruction. The UAE’s close relations with Israel and its financial capacity position it as a major contributor to rebuilding Gaza’s shattered infrastructure.
The plan also draws heavily on global financial and humanitarian expertise. World Bank President Ajay Banga has been tapped to help shape the economic recovery strategy, bringing with him a background that spans international finance, corporate leadership and development policy.
Marc Rowan, the billionaire chief executive of Apollo Global Management, joins the executive committee as a representative of private capital and philanthropy, reflecting the administration’s belief that large-scale investment will be essential to Gaza’s recovery.
Humanitarian coordination will involve Sigrid Kaag, a former Dutch deputy prime minister who has served as the United Nations’ coordinator for aid to Gaza since the early months of the war. Her continued involvement is intended to ensure that relief efforts remain integrated with political and security planning.
Several figures close to the Trump administration round out the leadership team. Robert Gabriel, a veteran adviser from Trump’s first presidential campaign who now serves as deputy national security adviser, is part of the executive structure, reinforcing White House oversight.
Yakir Gabay, an Israeli billionaire with deep roots in finance and real estate, provides what officials describe as an informal Israeli presence on the board, given his prominence in Israel’s business community.
On the ground in Gaza, the link between the international leadership and local administration will be Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian foreign minister and United Nations envoy to the Middle East. Appointed as the high representative for Gaza, Mladenov is expected to coordinate daily between the Board of Peace and the new Palestinian committee.
That committee will be headed by Ali Shaath, a Gaza-born engineer who previously served as deputy transportation minister for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
His selection reflects an effort to place technocratic governance at the forefront of Gaza’s administration, distancing daily management from factional politics while the broader political questions remain unresolved.
Together, the appointments signal the Trump administration’s intent to marshal an unusually broad coalition of political power, regional influence and economic expertise in pursuit of a lasting ceasefire.
Whether this constellation of heavyweights can translate authority and access into durable peace on the ground remains an open question, but the White House has made clear that it views this phase as a decisive test of its most ambitious foreign policy initiative to date.