By Quds News Network
Washington (QNN)- US President Donald Trump has praised the so-called “ceasefire” deal in Gaza that took effect in October, claiming the “war in Gaza is over” despite the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks.
President Trump convened the first meeting of the so-called “Board of Peace” on Thursday morning in Washington, D.C.
He announced that member states have pledged $7 billion for reconstruction in Gaza. He also said the US would contribute $10 billion. Representatives of more than 40 countries gathered in the US Institute of Peace.
The “Board of Peace” is tasked with overseeing governance in the Gaza Strip as part of a US-led peace plan to end the Israeli genocidal war. Trump has offered seats on the board to figures such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The UN security council authorized the Board of Peace to establish a temporary International Stabilization Force in Gaza. The ISF, according to the UN, will be tasked with securing Gaza’s border and maintaining peace within the area. It’s also supposed to protect civilians, and train and support “vetted Palestinian police forces”.
Six countries pledged troops for an eventual 20,000-strong International Stabilization Force.
The meeting came as Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement by bombing the enclave, killing Palestinians, blocking humanitarian aid, and keeping border crossings restricted.
Trump referred to the ongoing Israeli attacks as “little flames” and said the war in Gaza is over.
What Are the Terms of the Ceasefire?
On September 29, the US unveiled a 20-point proposal to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, release the remaining captives held in the enclave, allow the full entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged territory and outline a three-phase withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Some of the main conditions of the first phase, included:
- An end to hostilities in Gaza
- Lifting the blockade of all aid into Gaza by Israel and stopping its interference in aid distribution
- Release of all captives held in Gaza – alive or dead – by Hamas
- Release of some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and disappeared people from Israeli jails
- Withdrawal of Israeli forces to the “yellow line”
What Trump’ Plan Says
The plan details six stages to the deal, beginning with Trump’s announcement that the war in Gaza has ended and that “the parties have agreed to implement the necessary steps to that end.”
The second step states that “the war will immediately end upon the approval of the Israeli government.” Israel approved the first phase of the deal.
The third step calls for the “immediate commencement of full entry of humanitarian aid and relief” into the Gaza Strip, while the fourth step says that the Israeli army “will withdraw to lines agreed upon as per map X attached herewith, and this will be completed after President Trump’s announcement and within 24 hours of Israeli government approval.
“The IDF will not return to areas that have been withdrawn from, as long as Hamas fully implements the agreement.” Hamas has not violated the ceasefire, according to reports and officials while Israel has violated the agreement repeatedly and has been expanding its control over areas of the Strip.
In the fifth step, which will take place “within 72 hours of the withdrawal of Israeli forces, all Israeli hostages, living and deceased, held in Gaza will be released.”
While declaring all living and dead captives will be released during this 72-hour span, one of the fifth step’s subclauses calls for “the establishment of an information-sharing mechanism…”.
“The mechanism shall ensure that the remains of all the hostages fully and safely exhumed and released. Hamas shall exert maximum effort to ensure the fulfillment of these commitments as soon as possible,” it adds.
The next subclause states that “as Hamas releases all the hostages, Israel will release in parallel the corresponding number of Palestinian prisoners as per the attaches lists,” followed by another subclause declaring “the exchange of hostages and prisoners will be done according to the mechanism agreed upon through the mediators and through the ICRC without any public ceremonies or media coverage.”
The final step listed says “a task force will be formed of representatives from the United States, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and other countries to be agreed upon by the parties, to follow up on the implementation with the two sides and coordinate with them.”
The second phase will establish a transitional administration to govern over the bombarded Palestinian territory and see the “full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza”, Witkoff said.
It includes the establishment of a “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump and the deployment of an “international stabilisation force” to oversee security in Gaza.
On October 10, Trump’s ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip.
However, according to the Gaza Government Media Office last week, Israel has violated the ceasefire in Gaza since it took effect more than 1620 times.
Here’s more details:
Attacks and Killings
The Office said Israel shot at civilians 560 times, raided residential areas beyond the “yellow line” 79 times, bombed and shelled Gaza 749 times, and demolished people’s properties on 232 occasions. It added that Israel had also abducted 50 Palestinians from Gaza.
At least 573 Palestinians have been killed and 1,553 others wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the ceasefire began, it added.
Among the victims were 292 children, women and elders, and 99 percent of those killed were civilians.
Humanitarian Aid
Israel has also continued to block essential humanitarian aid from entering the enclave despite the ceasefire stipulating that “full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip”.
From October 10 to February 9, only 31,178 trucks have entered Gaza out of 72,000, averaging 260 trucks per day. That is only 43 percent of the trucks allocated.
In addition, Israel has blocked essential and nutritious food items, including meat, dairy, and vegetables, crucial for a balanced diet. Instead, non-nutritious foodstuffs are being allowed, such as snacks, chocolate, crisps, and soft drinks.
Shelters
The Office has warned of a rapidly deepening and unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, as Israel continues to block the entry of tents, mobile homes, caravans, and other essential shelter materials, “in clear violation of existing agreements and international humanitarian law.”
The Office pointed to recent storms which have caused the collapse of dozens homes and buildings that had previously been damaged by Israeli bombardment, killing more than 20 civilians. People have also died from extreme cold inside tents. Meanwhile, more than 127,000 tents are no longer usable, leaving over 1.5 million displaced people without even the most basic level of protection.
Rafah Crossing
On February 2, Israel reopened the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt partially for limited traffic under heavy Israeli restrictions and monitoring.
Health authorities said at least 1,268 people have died in Gaza while waiting for medical transfer after the crossing was closed by Israel.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health warned that there are critical medical cases in urgent need of immediate evacuation through the Rafah Crossing, as their lives are at serious risk.
There are 20,000 patients in the territory, including 4,500 children, in urgent need of treatment.
The Ministry said around 6,000 injured people require urgent transfer to receive medical treatment. It added that the current evacuation system is extremely slow and could take years to clear the backlog of patients and wounded.
According to the Ministry, evacuating at least 500 patients per day is necessary to alleviate their suffering.
Health authorities have warned that the number of deaths among those waiting for medical transfer will rise soon unless more Palestinians are allowed to exit immediately.
“We’re still losing lives every day. Allowing only 50 patients out of Gaza each day is not proper. This dynamic is very dire and we’re going to lose more lives,” Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital director said.
The reason the mass evacuations are needed is because Israel’s military “entirely destroyed” Gaza’s health system, said Muhamed Abu Salmiya.
For Palestinians in Gaza, the Rafah crossing had long been the only connection to the outside world.
Israeli forces occupied the Palestinian side of the crossing in May 2024, destroying its buildings, preventing travel and causing a severe humanitarian crisis, especially for patients. They deployed soldiers in a military buffer zone all across the Philadelphi Corridor, where they remain today.
The first phase of Trump’s Gaza ceasefire 20-point plan had called for Israel to let humanitarian aid into the territory and open “the Rafah crossing in both directions”.
However, Israel has violated the agreement by continuing to close it. Israel also continues to occupy over 50 percent of Gaza.
There have been reports that Israel plans to restrict the number of Palestinians entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, ensuring that more people are allowed out than in. Israeli officials have repeatedly called for the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, the occupation of the enclave, and the construction of illegal settlements.
According to the Gaza Media Office, only 640 Palestinians have left the Gaza Strip via the crossing since Israel reopened it on February 2. 508 Palestinians also returned to the strip while 26 others were refused by Israel to return.
What Hamas Says?
Hamas has repeatedly warned that Israel’s “blatant and outrageous violations” threaten the ceasefire agreement while calling on mediators – US President Donald Trump in particular – “to work on obliging Israel to respect the ceasefire and commit to it”.
According to an analysis by Al Jazeera, Israel has attacked Gaza on 106 out of the past 123 days of the ceasefire, meaning there were only 17 days during which no violent attacks, deaths or injuries were reported.
Has Hamas Released All of the Captives?
The US and Israel confirmed that the Palestinian factions in Gaza had returned all living captives and the remains of twenty-eight deceased captives.
As per the ceasefire deal, Hamas released all 20 remaining living Israeli captives in exchange for 250 Palestinians serving long prison sentences and 1,700 Palestinians abducted by Israel since October 7, 2023.
Israel has so far returned more than 300 Palestinian bodies, many of which showed signs of severe torture. Many are still unidentified.
What About the “Yellow Line”
On October 10, the Israeli forces completed the first phase of withdrawal under the ceasefire deal to the “yellow line,” a non-physical demarcation line separating the Israeli occupation forces from certain areas of Gaza, while occupying over 53 percent of the Strip.
Israeli forces have been reportedly expanding the so-called “yellow line” in eastern Gaza, particularly in eastern Gaza City’s Tuffah, Shujayea, and Zeitoun neighbourhoods and Jabalia, squeezing Palestinians into ever smaller clusters of the enclave.
Israel has no plans to withdraw from the Yellow Line in the eastern Gaza Strip. This was announced on the “This Morning” program with Ilael Shahar, on Channel 2’s News.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, known as Kan, reported that Israeli officials consider the so-called yellow line as a strategic area that will remain under Israeli control.
20 February 2026
Source: countercurrents.org