US President Donald Trump has named former UK prime minister Tony Blair and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to a new body he calls the Board of Peace, which he says will oversee governance and reconstruction in Ga-za. Trump will chair the seven member board, which also includes US special envoy Steve Witkoff, World Bank president Ajay Banga and Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner. Aryeh Lightstone and Josh Gruenbaum were appointed as senior advisers, while former UN Middle East envoy Nicholay Mladenov was named High Representative of Ga-za.

According to the White House, the board will direct the next phase of Trump’s Ga-za plan, focusing on governance, reconstruction, funding and regional coordination. It will oversee a separate technocratic committee of 15 Palestinians tasked with running day to day affairs in Ga-za, led by former Pales-tinian deputy planning minister Ali Shaath. Israel has objected to the formation of the Pales-tinian committee, saying it was not coordinated and contradicts Israeli policy, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructing his foreign minister to raise the issue directly with Rubio.

Several countries including Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada have been invited to join the board, with some leaders indicating they are considering or accepting the offer. Trump has reportedly invited around 60 countries and described the body as an alternative to existing international institutions. Blair’s appointment has drawn criticism due to his role in the 2003 Iraq war and his later advisory work in the region. The announcement comes as Ga-za continues to face severe humanitarian conditions, with ongoing Israeli restrictions on aid, winter related deaths among displaced Pales-tinians and continued casualties despite the ceasefire.