Kushner returns to Middle East to strike peace deal with Israel and Hamas
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President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner once again entered the geopolitical arena, landing in Egypt on Wednesday alongside White House special envoy Steve Witkoff to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire deal.
The presence of Kushner – who has largely stayed out of the Trump White House during the president’s second term and holds no official role in the administration after serving as a senior adviser to Trump – means the US is “serious” in seeking a deal between Hamas and Israel, ending the two-year war and returning the 48 hostages.
A White House official told Fox News Digital that Kushner, a “major architect of the Abraham Accords,” is an “extremely trusted voice on Middle East policy” and has been in contact with Witkoff throughout negotiations between Israel and Hamas over the last year.
The official said the White House was “grateful” for his expertise as it tried to reach a deal and end the war this week, and remained “cautiously optimistic” that a deal could be reached.
ISRAEL AND HAMAS MEETING IN EGYPT TO RELAUNCH TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN AHEAD OF OCTOBER 7 ANNIVERSARY
U.S. Special Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff (R) and Jared Kushner await the arrival of President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, July 13, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
“Bringing him in now, I think, indicates that, number one: The Trump administration is really committed to making progress here. Number two: They’re bringing some pretty serious firepower to make deals,” Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow and director of the Hudson Institute’s Keystone Defense Initiative, told Fox and Friends on Wednesday morning.
“It’s promising that Jared is here,” Heinrichs added, noting his leading role in securing the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration.
Reports on Wednesday suggest the two intend to stay in Egypt alongside other mediating countries, including Qatar, for as long as it takes to reach an agreement.
Their arrival marked the third day of serious negotiations after Israeli and Hamas officials met Monday in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, located on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula.
Negotiations began after Trump late last month revealed a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the war and returning hostages within 72 hours of finalizing a deal.
TRUMP’S PEACE DEAL COULD END WAR IN GAZA OR NETANYAHU’S CAREER
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House April 7, 2025 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Shortly after, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to the terms before Trump began pushing Hamas to respond.
Hamas appeared to accept the majority of the proposal over the weekend, although it flagged problems with some elements of the 20-point plan, including the rapid return of all hostages, particularly deceased hostages, some of whom it said are buried under rubble and therefore cannot be quickly retrieved.
Reports also suggest that Hamas disputed the call for complete disarmament and expressed distrust that Israel would uphold its end of the bargain by ending its military ambitions in the Gaza Strip once all hostages are returned.
Security experts told Fox News Digital that Trump, after months of supporting Israel’s aggressive military strategy in the Gaza Strip, finds himself in a unique position to squeeze Netanyahu and force both sides to the negotiating table.
Smoke rises from Gaza City seen from Deir al Balah, following intense Israeli military attacks on northern Gaza, October 5, 2025. (Khames Alrefi/Getty Images)
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“It is absolutely imperative for Israel’s long-term security and, frankly, for Netanyahu’s political future to keep the United States and Trump on their side,” John Hannah, a security expert and Randi & Charles Wax senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, told Fox News Digital. “A categorical rejection and confrontation with the United States would have been disastrous for both Netanyahu and Israel.”
Netanyahu faces a shaky political front at home, with immense public frustration over his failure to return the hostages, but also within his own coalition, which views his negotiations with Hamas as a concession and a failure of its previously stated security goals.
