Kushner Says US Leveraged Israel’s Diplomatic Isolation to Advance Gaza Hostage Deal

US President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said Friday that Washington used Israel’s “global isolation” following its “terrible” strike on Hamas leadership in Doha to help secure the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.

The comments have drawn criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, which maintains that the military operation against Hamas in Gaza City and the strike on the group’s leadership in Qatar, combined with pressure from President Trump, were instrumental in securing the hostages’ release.

Kushner Describes the Diplomatic Strategy

Kushner, who has participated in American negotiations involving Gaza, Iran, and Ukraine despite not holding an official government position, made the remarks Friday during a remote appearance at the Yalta European Security Conference. His comments were publicized Sunday.

While discussing negotiations with Russia, Kushner cited the Gaza ceasefire as an example of how unexpected developments can create opportunities for diplomatic agreements, provided that substantial groundwork has already been completed.

“Look at the deal we got done… in Gaza,” Kushner said. “We worked on that for nine months, and we’d created what happens after the war… what would be the security guarantees, what would be the humanitarian efforts.

“Then, actually, we used the errant strike,” Kushner said. “Israel did the strike in Doha, which was a terrible thing… it was unsuccessful as a military operation, and that led to Israel being globally isolated, and we used that dynamic in order to push them into a deal that now, today, they are quite happy with, but at the time, they were a little uncomfortable with… but ultimately it turned out to be great for them and great for the people of Gaza.

“Had we not done all the prework… when the opening came, nothing would have occurred,” Kushner said.

Likud Rejects Kushner’s Characterization

In a statement issued Sunday night, Netanyahu’s Likud party responded to the remarks without directly naming Kushner. The party argued that Israel’s military actions and Trump’s diplomatic pressure, rather than the isolation described by Kushner, were central to Hamas agreeing to release the remaining hostages.

“The prime minister’s decision to send the IDF into Gaza City and to strike the Hamas leadership in Qatar, together with the intense pressure exerted by President Trump, are what led Hamas to drop its demands and agree to release all the hostages remaining in Gaza,” the party said.

Likud is facing a difficult campaign to retain power ahead of the October 27 election.

Earlier Comments on the Doha Strike

Kushner previously told “60 Minutes” in October, following the implementation of the Gaza agreement, that the strike in Doha influenced Trump’s approach to Israel. According to Kushner, the attack prompted the president to conclude “that it was time to be very strong and stop them from doing things that he felt were not in their long-term interests.”

Trump had publicly expressed his displeasure with Israel over the operation against Hamas leaders in Qatar, a close US ally. He described himself as “very unhappy” with the strike and pledged that the United States would defend Qatar against a future attack.

From the Strike to the Hostage Agreement

The Israeli strike on September 9, 2025, targeted Hamas leadership in Doha. It killed a Qatari security officer and five lower-ranking Hamas members, while the organization’s senior leaders largely survived.

The operation prompted pressure from Washington for Netanyahu to issue a public apology to Qatar. During Netanyahu’s visit to the White House in late September 2025, Trump arranged for the Israeli prime minister to apologize to the Qatari leadership.

A ceasefire and hostage-release agreement between Israel and Hamas was finalized days later. Under the arrangement, all 20 remaining living hostages were released on October 13. The bodies of hostages still held by Hamas were also returned within a relatively short period.

Gaza Ceasefire Remains Fragile

Although the agreement ended large-scale fighting, Israeli strikes in Gaza have continued intermittently. Hamas has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire, while Israel has alleged that Hamas repeatedly breached the terms and continued rebuilding its military capabilities, which it says justified further strikes.

Gaza remains divided between areas controlled by Israel and those controlled by Hamas. Negotiations over Hamas’s disarmament and the reconstruction of the territory have made limited progress.