Jared Kushner may visit Israel next week for talks on Gaza, source says

Aug 13 - U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, may visit Israel next week for talks on Gaza, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The plans were reported earlier by Axios, which also said that Kushner was planning to meet mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey as well next week in Cairo.

"We agree with the Israelis on the goal of disarming Hamas but they have expressed concerns which are valid and we have been working through them," the source told Reuters, asking not to be identified.

The goal of a Kushner visit to Israel will be to "find a pathway to move forward with implementation of the 20 point plan" that Trump put forward for Gaza in late 2025, the source added.

Trump said in late July a deal was reached for the complete disarmament of Palestinian Hamas militants and other armed groups in Gaza.

Trump had said the deal would be carried out in phases, with Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza as disarmament proceeded and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election at a vote due in October, has publicly rejected Trump's plan.

Hamas has said it agreed to the plan but the deal's implementation would depend on Israel first meeting its own commitments, including withdrawal and halting attacks.

The Gaza ceasefire has been repeatedly violated, with more than 1,250 Palestinians, mostly civilians, being killed by Israeli attacks and four Israeli soldiers being killed by militants since the truce began in October, according to Gaza health officials and Israeli tallies, respectively. Hamas does not usually disclose its losses.

Gaza has been left devastated by an Israeli military assault that has killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and led to assessments of genocide by rights experts, scholars and U.N. inquiries.

Israel has called its actions self-defense after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in an October 2023 attack. REUTERS