Kushner, Netanyahu hold four-hour talks on next phase of Gaza plan UPDATED

A meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner lasted more than four hours and focused on implementing the next phase of the US plan for Gaza, Israeli journalist Anna Barsky said on X.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nikolay Mladenov, secretary-general of the “Board of Peace” for Gaza, also took part in the talks.

According to a diplomatic source, the sides agreed that reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would not begin until Hamas is fully disarmed across the territory.

The first practical step should be for Hamas to hand over its weapons for subsequent destruction under US supervision, the source said.

Netanyahu said Israeli forces would not withdraw from the “yellow line” and would maintain their current level of combat readiness.

He said Israel would continue to prevent threats to its troops and citizens, while its policy of pre-emptive strikes would remain unchanged.

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US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner has begun a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, alongside senior Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and Tony Blair.

The meeting follows talks with Hamas as the US-backed Board of Peace seeks to advance a 15-point roadmap for implementing Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Caliber.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

Hamas has said it agreed to the plan, while Netanyahu has publicly rejected it, saying the group must fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

An official familiar with the meeting said there was no immediate indication of who else was taking part on the Israeli side.

The official also played down differences between Israel and the US over the plan, saying the meeting was focused not on securing Israel’s “signature” on the 15-point plan, but on “moving forward on all the elements [of the plan] that we can.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev