President Donald Trump was presiding over a policy meeting on the Gaza war early today with input from former British prime minister Tony Blair and former Trump Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, a senior White House official said.
Trump, top White House officials, Blair and Kushner were discussing all aspects of the Gaza issue, including escalating food aid deliveries, the hostage crisis, post-war plans and more, the official told Reuters.
The official described the session as ‘simply a policy meeting’, the type frequently held by Trump and his team.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, was a key White House adviser in Trump’s first term on Middle East issues. Blair, who was prime minister during the 2003 Iraq war, has also been active on Middle East issues.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff previewed the meeting in an appearance on Fox News’ Special Reporting with Bret Baier on Tuesday.
“It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day (in Gaza) and many people are going to see how robust it is and how well meaning it is and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here,” Witkoff said.
Trump had promised a quick end to the war in Gaza during last year’s presidential campaign but a resolution has been elusive seven months into his second term.
Trump’s term began with a ceasefire which lasted two months, until Israeli strikes killed around 400 Palestinians on March 18. More recently, images of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including children, have shocked the world and fed criticism of Israel over the deteriorating conditions.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants the war to end, and he wants peace and prosperity for everyone in the region. The White House has nothing additional to share on the meeting at this time,” a second White House official said.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military has concluded six Hamas members were killed in a strike on Nasser Hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip on Monday, acting US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea told the Security Council yesterday.
The Israeli strike killed at least 20 people including journalists who worked for Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other outlets.
“The IDF concluded six Hamas members – one of whom had participated in the October 7 attacks – were killed when the IDF struck the site Hamas was using to monitor troops at the hospital,” Shea said.
“We note the prompt nature of this investigation and response and call on this council to condemn the continued use of civilian infrastructure by Hamas,” she said.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters before the council meeting on Wednesday: “We’re still looking into the details of that incident, and so that in the next few days we will have more information about that.”
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