Trump Gaza Board Issues First Military Base Contract

Donald Trump's Gaza Board of Peace has issued its first construction contract in Gaza, awarding a tender for a small military outpost intended to house Moroccan troops, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The project is for a rudimentary base sized at about 100 metres by 120 metres and designed to accommodate roughly 150 personnel. The contract has not been finalised, the source said.

First Contract Yet To Be Finalised

The deal was awarded to Arkel International, a Louisiana-based firm that has previously carried out work for the US government in countries including Iraq. The contract terms are still being completed, and no final award has been published.

In an email, a Board of Peace official said the board and a separate Palestinian team tasked with overseeing Gaza were nearing the end of preparations for a series of contract awards. The official added: “None have been finalised.”

Role Of The Board

The Board of Peace, established in January to oversee reconstruction in Gaza, is chaired by the US president. It is led by a team that includes Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and friend Steve Witkoff.

The Board of Peace’s Palestinian group counterpart is the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, according to the email.

Facilities For an international Stabilisation Force

The official said one prospective contract concerned facilities to support the international stabilisation force (ISF), which the board said would help implement security and governance arrangements set out in the roadmap.

The official wrote that the contract would be among multiple measures needed for the future of Gaza.

The UN resolution that authorised the Board of Peace also approved establishing an ISF for Gaza, but reports have differed on which country would provide troops. Morocco has promised a small contingent, but the legal framework for the ISF has not yet been finalised and it is unclear when any deployment would start.

Earlier contract planning reviewed by The Guardian described the planned 150-person outpost as the first phase of a larger ISF base for up to 5,000 troops. That earlier plan included vehicle fighting positions and a perimeter berm, along with basic facilities suitable for short-term deployment, such as tents and cots, chemical toilets and handwashing stations.

New Contract Comes After Hamas Disarm Claims

The award comes days after Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to disarm, though there were significant questions about how the group would surrender weapons. Israel has opposed the plan and increased airstrikes in Gaza following Trump’s announcement.

The Guardian reported in July that the board’s initial reconstruction concept had shrunk substantially, down from an ambitious plan to rebuild the entire territory to a smaller pilot project in the south of the strip.

The planned base would be located within around 60% of Gaza’s territory that the Israeli army directly controls, where Israel has also created a buffer zone beyond that area. The source said it would be about a mile from the Israeli border and include a “quick extraction route” for the small contingent if it faced attack.

In February 2025, Trump said the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza, though the agreement setting up the Board of Peace did not go that far.

At the board’s first meeting in January, Kushner unveiled what he called a “master plan” for “New Gaza”, featuring an expansive waterfront city with mixed-use towers.

Meanwhile, at least 80% of Gaza’s buildings were damaged or destroyed in the war. Ten months after the ceasefire, most of the territory’s roughly 2 million people remain living in makeshift and unsanitary camps.

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7 August 2026