Trump's Son-in-Law Jared Kushner Heading to Israel and Egypt to Push Gaza Peace Plan
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's senior aide and son-in-law, is planning to travel to Israel and Egypt next week with senior Board of Peace officials for talks aimed at advancing a Gaza peace plan that has run into growing resistance, according to multiple news outlets reporting on August 13 and 14, 2026.
Axios first reported on August 13 that Kushner planned to visit Israel and Egypt the following week for talks on the situation in Gaza. Reuters, citing a single source, reported the same day that Kushner may visit Israel next week for Gaza talks. By August 14, the New York Times, Bloomberg, AP News, and The Media Line had all confirmed the planned visit, with the Times describing Kushner as set to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza. Bloomberg called Kushner Trump's "peace envoy," meaning a representative sent to negotiate on behalf of the president. The New York Times
The trip includes Egypt alongside Israel, which suggests the talks are not just between Washington and Jerusalem but involve a broader set of countries in the region. AP News and ABC News both reported that Kushner and Board of Peace officials plan to travel to the Middle East to advance plans to end the conflict in Gaza following a deal recently announced by Trump. The Media Line described the talks as aimed at reviving a "stalled Gaza plan."
The visit comes at a delicate moment. On August 10, the New York Times reported that Netanyahu was walking a "political tightrope" on Trump's Gaza plan. The same article noted that a Board of Peace had reached an agreement to disarm Hamas, and that the deal was quickly met by Israeli skepticism. The New York Times
Kushner's role in the Gaza file is not new. The New York Times reported on October 20, 2025 that the White House worked to hold together the Gaza peace deal and that Kushner was instrumental in that effort. An address by Trump published on the Israeli Knesset — Israel's parliament — website on October 13, 2025 states that Gaza will be "immediately demilitarized," that Hamas will be disarmed, and that Israel's security will "no longer be threatened," while also mentioning Kushner in connection with Israel. The New York Times
Netanyahu, for his part, publicly framed the military campaign as advancing toward disarmament. In a statement on October 10, 2025, he said Israel is "encircling Hamas from all directions," ahead of upcoming stages of the plan in which Hamas will be disarmed.
The reports from Axios, Reuters, AP, Bloomberg, the Times, and The Media Line all point to a coordinated push by the Board of Peace to keep the plan moving forward. The plan's central pillar is Hamas disarmament, which has drawn skeptical reactions from Israeli officials. The Times' August 14 framing, that the deal is "in peril," and The Media Line's description of the plan as "stalled," suggest the administration views the situation as fragile enough to require Kushner's direct involvement with both Israel and a key Arab partner.
The broader context here is a tension between what the plan aims to do and the political pressures on the leaders involved. Netanyahu needs to show his own people that Israel is gaining security without looking like he is giving anything away. The disarmament provision, however it was framed in Trump's Knesset address, assumes there is a way to verify and enforce Hamas's dismantlement — but no party has yet publicly explained how that would actually work. Kushner's decision to engage Egypt at the same time signals awareness that Gaza's future cannot be negotiated by Washington and Jerusalem alone. Cairo's role in managing borders, coordinating security, and shaping any post-conflict governance arrangement remains essential.
Kushner played a key role in the October 2025 phase of the deal, as reported by the Times, which gives this return visit a sense of continuity. Whether that continuity leads to progress will depend on whether the Board of Peace can narrow the gap between the plan's goals and the different concerns of Israel, Egypt, and whatever Palestinian representatives are included in later stages.
