A board tasked with building while the foundation still cracks
In the uncertain aftermath of a fragile ceasefire, Donald Trump has convened a seven-member board to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and transitional governance — a high-profile assembly that includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Jared Kushner. The board's mandate reaches beyond bricks and mortar, extending to the harder work of building institutions, attracting investment, and forging regional relationships in a territory where the fundamental questions of authority and security remain unanswered. History reminds us that the machinery of reconstruction, however well-staffed, cannot easily outpace the unresolved grievances that made reconstruction necessary.
- A ceasefire so new it barely holds is already being tested — Israel has demolished thousands of homes, greenhouses, and civilian structures in the territory it controls since the agreement took effect.
- Hamas has made no public commitment to disarmament, leaving the single condition Israel considers essential to any lasting settlement conspicuously unfulfilled.
- Trump has placed himself at the head of a board that reads like a geopolitical all-star roster — Rubio, Blair, Kushner, Witkoff, and World Bank president Ajay Banga — signaling that this is meant to be taken seriously at the highest levels.
- Each board member has been assigned a defined portfolio — governance, regional diplomacy, investment, funding mobilization — an organizational clarity that stands in sharp contrast to the political chaos on the ground.
- The deeper question shadowing the entire enterprise: can any reconstruction board succeed when the war's underlying causes remain structurally intact on both sides?
Donald Trump has assembled a seven-member board to guide Gaza through the immediate and treacherous aftermath of a ceasefire that remains, at best, provisional. Trump will chair the group himself — a signal of intended priority — alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and World Bank president Ajay Banga. The White House has indicated additional members will follow.
The board's mandate is broad and ambitious: each member will oversee a defined portfolio spanning governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, and large-scale funding mobilization. The goal, in essence, is to rebuild not only the physical landscape of a devastated territory, but the institutional and economic foundations that might allow it to function.
Yet the ground beneath this effort is unstable. Since the ceasefire took hold, Israel has continued demolishing structures across territory it controls — homes, greenhouses, civilian infrastructure that had survived the preceding conflict. Hamas, meanwhile, has offered no public commitment to disarmament, the condition Israel regards as central to any durable settlement. Both facts point in the same direction: neither party appears to be treating the ceasefire as a genuine transition.
The board's composition reflects Trump's characteristic blend of political loyalty, institutional weight, and deal-making credibility. Blair brings decades of Middle East diplomatic experience; Kushner brings continuity from Trump's first term; Banga brings financial architecture. What the board cannot supply, however, is a resolution to the political questions that no organizational chart can answer — who governs Gaza, under what authority, and with what guarantee of security. Until those questions find answers, the work of reconstruction risks being built on ground that has not yet stopped shifting.
Donald Trump has assembled a seven-member board tasked with steering Gaza through its most precarious moment—the immediate aftermath of a ceasefire so fragile that the ink on it barely feels dry. The group, which Trump will chair himself, includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and World Bank president Ajay Banga. The White House has signaled that more members will be named in the weeks ahead.
The board's mandate is sweeping: each member will oversee what the administration calls "a defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilization and long-term success." That portfolio encompasses governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction efforts, investment attraction, large-scale funding mechanisms, and capital mobilization. In other words, they are being asked to rebuild not just the physical infrastructure of a territory that has been devastated, but the institutions and economic systems that might allow it to function as something approaching a functioning state.
The announcement comes at a moment when the ceasefire itself remains under strain. Since the agreement took hold, Israel has demolished thousands of structures across the territory it still controls—homes, greenhouses, and other civilian infrastructure that had somehow survived the preceding conflict. The demolitions suggest that even as one phase of the conflict appears to have paused, the underlying tensions that produced it remain unresolved.
Hamas, for its part, has not publicly committed to the full disarmament that Israel has made a cornerstone of any longer-term settlement. This absence of commitment represents one of the most contentious remaining obstacles to a durable peace. Without it, the ceasefire remains conditional, contingent on the possibility that hostilities could resume.
The composition of the board itself signals Trump's approach to the problem. Rubio brings the weight of the State Department. Blair brings decades of experience in Middle East diplomacy and the credibility of having served as a peace envoy in the region. Kushner, who played a central role in Trump's first-term Middle East initiatives, brings continuity and direct access to the president. Witkoff and Banga bring operational and financial expertise. Trump's own chairmanship makes clear that he intends this to be a high-level priority, at least in terms of organizational structure.
What remains unclear is whether the board's mandate—to stabilize and reconstruct—can succeed when the underlying political settlement remains incomplete. The demolitions continuing in Gaza suggest that the ceasefire is being treated by at least one party as a temporary pause rather than a genuine transition. The absence of Hamas disarmament commitments suggests the same from the other side. A board tasked with building governance and attracting investment into a territory where the fundamental questions of security and political authority remain unresolved faces obstacles that no amount of organizational clarity or financial mobilization may be able to overcome.
Citas Notables
Each board member will manage a defined portfolio critical to Gaza's stabilization and long-term success, including governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilization— White House statement
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why assemble a board at all? Why not let the UN or existing international mechanisms handle reconstruction?
Because Trump wants direct American control over the process. A board with his people—Rubio, Kushner, Witkoff—ensures the administration shapes what Gaza becomes, not some distant bureaucracy.
But can they actually rebuild anything if the ceasefire collapses?
That's the real question. They're being asked to plan for stability while Israel is still demolishing homes and Hamas won't commit to disarmament. It's like being asked to renovate a house while the foundation is still cracking.
What does Tony Blair bring to this that an American official couldn't?
International legitimacy, mostly. Blair has credibility in the region from his years as envoy. He makes it look less like American occupation and more like a genuine international effort.
Is there any chance this actually works?
If both sides genuinely want to move forward, maybe. But the demolitions and the disarmament standoff suggest neither side is ready to stop treating this as a conflict that's merely paused.