Editor's Note: In April 2026, the EU, the UN, and the World Bank released an assessment stating that after about 24 months of conflict, Gaza's reconstruction and recovery needs for the next decade amount to $71.4 billion, to restore basic services, rebuild critical infrastructure, and drive economic recovery.
The Gaza reconstruction was supposed to be a highly publicized and institutionalized post-war project. However, a month later, the controversy surrounding this reconstruction fund took a different turn.
According to the Financial Times, the "peace panel" led by Trump, which was supposed to be responsible for post-war governance and reconstruction in Gaza, has a claimed commitment of around $17 billion, yet its official World Bank account still stands at zero dollars. At the same time, some donations have been placed in an account held by JPMorgan with weaker transparency requirements.
What truly deserves attention in this article is not just "why the money hasn't arrived," but how Gaza's reconstruction is being integrated into a structure of power and funding. On one side, there is the immense reconstruction gap calculated by the UN, EU, and World Bank; on the other, there are high-profile announcements of funding commitments on the international political stage. On one side are the Gaza civilians still in ruins, displacement, and a lack of basic services, on the other is a funding arrangement lacking clear audits, supervision, and accountability mechanisms.
When official funds remain empty while private accounts handle the flow of funds, "reconstruction" ceases to be just a humanitarian issue and becomes a question of governance, financial transparency, and interest distribution. Who will manage Gaza? Who will decide how the money is used? Who will be held accountable for the reconstruction failure? These questions are exposing the fragility of the post-war arrangement earlier than the funds themselves.
For the people of Gaza, reconstruction cannot be merely a promised number at a press conference or a covert channel for power and capital redistribution. True reconstruction requires traceable funds, auditable mechanisms, and public governance that hold the victims, not the dealmakers, accountable.
Below is the original text:
The official fund set up by Donald Trump to rebuild Gaza does not have a single dollar in its account.
Not behind schedule. Not below expectations. Zero. The Financial Times of London confirmed this today morning, quoting four sources with knowledge of the matter. One of them summed it up in a sentence, and the Financial Times quotes it directly: "Not a single dollar has been deposited."
Four months ago, Trump stood at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., and announced the establishment of the Board of Peace, calling it one of the most "impactful" international institutions in history. Nine member countries pledged $7 billion in funding on camera. Trump himself also pledged an additional $100 billion in U.S. support. The committee was supposed to be responsible for governing Gaza, rebuilding Gaza, and overseeing an international stabilization force for Gaza. Forty-seven countries and the EU sent delegations.
But in the joint signatory world bank account they all supported, there is nothing.
That's the headline. That's the whole truth. After all the press conferences, commitments, and photo ops, the fund endorsed by the United Nations, managed by the World Bank, is empty.
Next, I will show you where the money actually went.
JPMorgan Account
This is the part that was not mentioned at the press conferences.
The Financial Times confirmed today that the funds donated to the Board of Peace are flowing into a separate JPMorgan account. Not the World Bank fund, but a private bank account controlled by the organization. The committee's own spokesperson also confirmed this to the Financial Times.
This JPMorgan account has no independent transparency requirements. None. Unlike the World Bank fund, the depositors are not obliged to report to other contributors or committee members. The money can sit there. It can be moved. It can be used to pay for various items. The outside world doesn't have to know.
A senior congressional aide told the Financial Times, and I quote directly: "None of that money is actually being managed by the Board of Peace, and the State Department has told us they do not intend for the Board of Peace to manage any of the funding that was supposed to be set up for it."
Read that again. This aide mentioned that the State Department has committed to reallocating $1.2 billion in aid spending for the committee's agenda. In other words, the State Department has informed Congress that it does not intend to let the Board of Peace actually manage the money that was supposed to be established for it to oversee.
So where did the money go?
The Financial Times found some clues. Morocco contributed around $20 million, which helped cover the costs of Nikola Mladnov's office. Mladnov is the committee's senior representative for post-Gaza affairs. This money was also used to pay the salary of a Palestinian technocratic committee, which was supposed to be responsible for the actual operations on the ground. The UAE contributed $100 million, specifically for training a new Gaza police force. However, two sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that this money has been frozen, and the project has not yet commenced.
This is what we can see so far. $200 million allocated to office and payroll expenses. $1 billion frozen. And a commitment of $17 billion. They are sitting in a private bank account with no transparency rules.
Meanwhile, What's Happening in Gaza
Let me clarify the timeline first.
The ceasefire agreement was signed in October. Since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 910 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza. Israel still controls over 60% of the Gaza Strip, including all entry and exit points. The civilian population is concentrated in the coastal area.
An assessment released by the EU and the UN in April projected that the cost of rebuilding Gaza over the next decade will exceed $71 billion. The UN has labeled the local humanitarian situation as "dire." Those statistics include children. They include parents. They include entire families who have lost their roofs.
The fund set up to assist them has zero dollars in its account. The actual money that exists is held in a private account at the largest bank in the US, with no obligation to disclose where the money is spent. This account is controlled by a committee chaired by Donald Trump himself.
This Committee
I want you to know who is on this committee.
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump's Special Envoy for Foreign Affairs Steve Witkoff. Deputy National Security Advisor Robert Gabriel. Apollo Global Management CEO Mark Rowan. World Bank President Pang Anjie. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was invited to join, initially reported by CNN to have accepted, but Trump later withdrew the invitation citing concerns about Russian involvement. The UK declined to join the committee, citing concerns about Russian involvement.
According to the bylaws, obtaining a permanent seat on the committee requires a $1 billion payment. This was first reported by Bloomberg. A billion dollars can buy a seat at the table, and at that table, decisions are made about the money meant for Gaza's reconstruction. Often, the buyers of these seats are the very people who stand to benefit from future reconstruction contracts.
The agency is chaired by Trump himself. He holds ultimate decision-making power. According to the bylaws, even after his term as president ends, he can continue to wield power.
The Undisclosed Part
I keep coming back to the same number: $71 billion. That's the estimated cost by the EU and the UN for rebuilding Gaza in the next decade. $71 billion to allow those who have lost their homes, schools, hospitals, and children to have a life again.
And for the fund set up for this, the account holds zero dollars.
The money pledged on camera flowed into a bank account with no requirement for disclosure to anyone. Committee members each paid $1 billion for their seats. The U.S. president has ultimate authority over how this money will be used, and this power can continue indefinitely. No audits. No watchdog. No quarterly reports. Just a JPMorgan account set up four months ago holding an unspecified amount of money, spent on a list of undisclosed items by an undisclosed group of individuals, with those in charge telling Congress they have no intention of changing the arrangement.
Next, let me tell you what it essentially is. It's not incompetence. It's not delay. It's a private piggy bank, cloaked in post-war reconstruction moral garb, promoted to the outside world in the name of charity but managed by those who stand to gain the most from this war and its aftermath.
The bomb is real. The pledge is a press release. The money is in the bank.
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