NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Wednesday unveiled a $2.45 billion plan for Gaza’s recovery, proposing 66 projects over six months to provide temporary housing and support economic recovery in the war-ravaged territory.
The plan was presented in New York during a meeting of Board of Peace members and stakeholders held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, where the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and prospects for ending the conflict remained major issues.
The proposed recovery programme focuses on temporary accommodation and economic rehabilitation, according to the presentation. The Board of Peace was initially established to oversee a ceasefire in Gaza and the territory’s reconstruction following the war between Israel and Hamas.
Nickolay Mladenov, the board’s high representative for Gaza, called for support for the recovery plan, while acknowledging the political difficulties involved in discussions with Israel ahead of its elections.
“Given the complexity of what we’re dealing with,” Mr Mladenov said, progress was nevertheless being made. The meeting was also attended by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Israeli strike kills two in Gaza
While the recovery plan was being presented in New York, violence continued in Gaza. An Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle in western Khan Younis on Wednesday, killing two men and injuring two others, according to local health officials.
Medics identified those killed as Osama Abu Khater and Mohammad Abu Elwan.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that the military had killed Abu Elwan, whom they described as a senior Hamas financial official.
“We will not allow Hamas to rebuild its strength, and we will not stop until Hamas no longer exists in Gaza,” they said. Hamas did not immediately comment on the Israeli statement.
Palestinian authorities say more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israel’s military campaign since October 7, 2023. According to UN figures, Israeli strikes had damaged or destroyed 84 per cent of structures in Gaza by October 2025.
A US-brokered ceasefire agreed last year envisaged the eventual reconstruction of Gaza, but negotiations have made limited progress. The sides have remained divided over Hamas’s disarmament and an Israeli military withdrawal, while Israeli airstrikes have continued.
Gaza health officials say at least 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect. The Israeli military says four Israeli soldiers have been killed during the same period. Israel and Hamas have continued to accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.
Guterres warns of threat to two-state solution
Separately, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at risk of collapse, citing Israeli settlement expansion and moves towards annexation.
Speaking at a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Mr Guterres said developments in the occupied Palestinian territory were undermining the prospects for a viable Palestinian state.
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“The conditions for an independent, democratic, contiguous, viable and sovereign Palestinian state are being systematically erased,” he said. Mr Guterres pointed to developments ranging from the destruction in Gaza to settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.
The meeting, titled “The Road Ahead”, focused on the future of the two-state solution and a comprehensive peace plan for Gaza. It followed the adoption of the New York Declaration in September 2025, which sought to establish a framework for ending the conflict that began in 2023 and addressing its consequences.
The UN chief called for the full implementation of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point provisional deal and the October 2025 ceasefire.
He also urged an end to settlement expansion, measures to prevent annexation and greater support for Palestinian institutions. “There is simply no alternative,” Mr Guterres said. “And time is running out.”
