Kushner to Lead Board of Peace Delegation to Israel, Egypt on Gaza Mission

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior negotiator, is set to travel to the Middle East next week as part of a push to advance a U.S.-brokered plan to end the conflict in Gaza. The trip comes as a recently announced agreement has encountered opposition from the Israeli government.

According to an official with the Board of Peace — the body established by Trump to oversee the fragile ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war — Kushner will be accompanied by the board's high representative, Nickolay Mladenov, and executive board member and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday.

From there, the group will travel to Cairo, where a Palestinian technocratic body has been meeting for several months. That group is slated to assume administrative control of Gaza under the terms of the ceasefire deal.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as trip details are still being finalized, said the visit is intended to demonstrate the Trump administration's commitment to achieving "peace, prosperity and sustainable security" in a demilitarized Gaza. The plan envisions Hamas ceding control to allow for the reconstruction of the war-ravaged territory.

However, the deal has hit a significant roadblock. While Hamas has accepted the proposal to decommission its weapons, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel will not withdraw its forces until Hamas is completely disarmed. This marks a rare public disagreement between Israel and the Trump administration.

The agreement, which was built on an October ceasefire that ended major military operations and secured the release of remaining hostages, had been viewed as a potential breakthrough. Yet, progress has stalled on other fronts, leaving the path to a lasting peace uncertain.