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WASHINGTON — At the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, President Donald Trump announced sweeping pledges of troops and billions in reconstruction aid. But those commitments will mean little if the Trump-led board can’t first persuade Hamas to lay down its arms.  

“I think what was sort of reinforced and on display today was there is a vision there, but still no answers on how to go about the issues that are being presented as prerequisites to moving forward,” said Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute who is focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  

The Washington summit, which was held at the recently renamed Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, brought together officials from dozens of countries. It came as major questions hang over the current phase of Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to enforce the shaky truce.