Trump holds meeting on Gaza with UK’s ex-PM Tony Blair and Jared Kushner
The meeting, described as a standard policy session, covered hostages, humanitarian aid and the future of the territory
US President Donald Trump presided over a policy meeting on Israel’s war in Gaza and post-war plans for the Palestinian territory on Wednesday 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 discussed the hostage crisis, plans to escalate food aid deliveries, 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 on Middle East in Trump’s first term. Blair was prime minister during the 2003 Iraq war over which he has faced widespread criticism.
Trump had promised a quick end to the war in Gaza during his 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 US ally Israel over the deteriorating conditions.