WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Monday finally lifted the curtain on his long-trailed roadmap for ending the war in Gaza, unveiling a 20-point plan that he insisted had secured unprecedented international support.
Flanked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said the initiative was designed not only to stop the conflict but also to “reset the future of the Middle East.”
Trump claimed the agreement had been shaped in consultation with Arab, Muslim, and Western leaders, thanking them for “choosing peace over endless conflict.” “This is not just about a ceasefire. This is about creating what I call lasting, even eternal, peace in the Middle East,” he told reporters.
The plan outlines four major phases: an immediate halt to hostilities and the release of all hostages within 72 hours; the dismantling of Hamas’s military assets, including tunnels and weapons factories; the deployment of an international stabilisation mission; and a step-by-step Israeli withdrawal.
According to Trump, Arab and Muslim governments have agreed to take responsibility for demilitarising Gaza and building a new security structure.
Oversight would rest with a new body Trump dubbed the “Board of Peace”, to include Arab states, Israel, and international figures. He mentioned that former British prime minister Tony Blair had expressed interest in joining, while the World Bank would help form a technocratic Palestinian administration to oversee reconstruction.
Trump stressed that Hamas and similar groups would be excluded from governance. “This is about giving ordinary Palestinians a functioning system, not returning power to those who thrive on chaos,” he said. At the same time, he acknowledged Netanyahu’s opposition to a Palestinian state but argued that Israelis were eager to end the war and see hostages returned.
One of Trump’s most emphatic endorsements came from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who welcomed the plan in a statement earlier in the day. Shehbaz described it as a “real chance for durable peace” and underlined his belief that a two-state solution remained the only sustainable way forward. He also praised Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, for what he called “tireless efforts to end this cycle of destruction.”
Saudi Arabia later issued a joint communique on behalf of Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt, all signalling readiness to work on the deal. The statement underlined their willingness to contribute forces to the stabilisation mission and to participate in reconstruction.
In Gaza, Hamas officials said they had received the plan through Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries and were reviewing it. Sources in Doha confirmed the group had been given the full text and would respond after internal consultations.
During the White House event, Netanyahu publicly thanked Trump for his backing and privately, according to US officials, apologised to Qatar for an earlier Israeli operation that had crossed into its territory. Trump, playing mediator, said the apology had been accepted and described it as a “step towards building trust.”
The president also suggested the framework could eventually bring even Iran into the fold of the Abraham Accords, saying that “the door is open for those willing to choose stability.” He closed the press conference by declaring: “This is our chance to get the hostages home, rebuild Gaza, and finally turn decades of bloodshed into decades of growth.”
