​​​​​​ISTANBUL

Romania’s President Nicusor Dan and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed support Thursday for US President Donald Trump’s peace initiative in remarks at the first meeting of the Board of Peace.

Dan thanked Trump for his “involvement and leadership” and described the proposed Gaza Strip peace plan as “comprehensive and stable,” while outlining steps Romania could take, particularly in humanitarian and institutional support.

“I think everyone desire peace, stability, prosperity in Gaza, but the question is how to act for and that's why this meeting is and this format, it's important what Romanian can do first on the humanitarian situation, we can increase the number of flights in order to extract children with disease and to treat in the Romanian hospitals we've done already, and we can do 4,000 children and 4,000 family members,” he said.

He added that Romania could help rebuild emergency response systems and public institutions in Gaza, citing prior international experience.

“Secondly, we had a good expertise in emergency report systems, like ambulance fire systems, and we can help in order to rebuild that system, and we can donate some infrastructure, some equipment. Third, we (are) already offering some scholarships for Palestinian students, and we can extend the program. And we can also help to rebuild, refurbish the schools in Gaza and force," he added.

Orban praised Trump’s global diplomatic efforts and framed Hungary’s participation as principled and strategic.

“First of all, let me express the appreciation of the Hungarian people to President Trump for his tireless peace efforts all around the world,” he said.

He emphasized Hungary’s status within the EU representation at the meeting. “Hungary is the only country to be represented here on the highest level among the founding members from the European Union.”

Linking Middle East stability to Europe’s security, Orban said, “We in Europe understand clearly that the security situation in (the) Middle East, and especially in Gaza, has a significant impact on the security of Europe.”

He argued that new mechanisms were needed to address global conflicts, criticizing existing institutions.

“We understand that during the recent decades, international organizations have failed to fulfill their role to preserve peace and stability worldwide. Therefore, new initiatives are needed to bring forward the issue of peace globally,” he said.

Israel began its war in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, resulting in more than 72,000 Palestinian deaths and over 171,000 injuries, most of them women and children, and damage to 90% of civilian infrastructure.

Despite a ceasefire, the Israeli army continued its attacks, killing at least 611 Palestinians and injuring 1,630, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.