Trump adviser Kushner to visit Israel for Gaza plan talks

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, will travel to Israel next week alongside Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, to discuss advancing the US proposal for the war-torn enclave, Axios reported on Thursday.

Planned Meetings and Objectives

The visit marks Kushner's first trip to Israel since January. He and Mladenov intend to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials to reach understandings on implementing the plan's next stages over the coming months, the news outlet said, citing five sources familiar with the itinerary.

The planned discussions come as the White House seeks to prevent upcoming Israeli elections from stalling the implementation of the next phase of the proposal, according to the report. A US official told Axios that "we see eye-to-eye on the strategic goal, but Israel has expressed some doubts about the plan and we want to talk to them in order to make sure we are coordinated."

Disagreements Over Disarmament

Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a 15-point Gaza plan approved by the Board of Peace and accepted by Hamas, insisting that the Palestinian group must be disarmed before any further Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. His remarks contradicted a roadmap issued by the board on July 31, which calls for Hamas' disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal to proceed in parallel.

Another US official said the Trump administration understands Netanyahu's political needs, adding that "we have no problem with it as long as he continues to do what we ask — especially regarding restraining attacks in Gaza." Hamas official Ghazi Hamad previously told Anadolu that the agreement stipulated the "storage of heavy weapons" under the authority of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, in parallel with progress on the other components of the deal.

Roadmap Details and War Context

The roadmap provides for transferring Gaza's administration to a Palestinian technocratic committee, deploying an international stabilization force and placing weapons under the authority of a national committee with international oversight. These measures would proceed alongside a phased Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction of the devastated territory.

Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed around 73,000 Palestinians and injured more than 174,000, most of them women and children. The offensive has also damaged or destroyed nearly 90% of the enclave's infrastructure.