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 18 March. More recently, images of starving Palestinians in Gaza, including children, have shocked the world and fed criticism of U.S. ally Israel over the deteriorating conditions.
In February, Trump proposed a U.S. takeover of Gaza and a permanent displacement of Palestinians from the coastal territory. The plan was globally condemned and labeled as an "ethnic cleansing" proposal by rights experts and the United Nations. Forcible displacement is illegal under international law.
Trump cast the plan, which he has not publicly mentioned in recent weeks, as a re-development idea to turn Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
The plan echoed an idea that Kushner floated a year earlier to clear Gaza of its Palestinian inhabitants and turn it into a waterfront property.
The Financial Times reported in July that the Tony Blair Institute participated in a project to develop a post-war Gaza plan. The think-tank had said it "has had many calls with different groups on post-war reconstruction of Gaza but none have included the idea of forcible relocation of people from Gaza."
Separately, the U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar in Washington and discussed Gaza and regional issues.
Saar, asked after the meeting what the plan was for a Palestinian state, said there would not be any. Some U.S. allies have in recent weeks announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel's assault on Gaza since October 2023 has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide and war crimes at international courts that Israel denies.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
The U.S. military began a blockade of Iran's ports on Monday, President Donald Trump said, and Tehran threaten...
Italy has suspended a long-standing defence cooperation agreement with Israel, marking a sharp shift in relations as tensions in the Middle East es...
There are cautious signs of progress towards peace, as negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran consider returning to Islamabad later this week to ...
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing legislation that would allow the UK to adopt new EU laws without full parliamentary votes, aiming ...
A fresh international effort to safeguard the Caspian Sea has received a significant boost after the World Bank approved funding for a wide-ranging...
Italy has suspended a long-standing defence cooperation agreement with Israel, marking a sharp shift in relations as tensions in the Middle East escalate.
There are cautious signs of progress towards peace, as negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran consider returning to Islamabad later this week to resume talks aimed at ending the Gulf conflict.
A fresh international effort to safeguard the Caspian Sea has received a significant boost after the World Bank approved funding for a wide-ranging environmental programme aimed at reversing years of ecological damage.
Kazakhstan has reported a sharp fall in oil production, with both output and exports declining in the first quarter of the year, according to government officials. The drop is now affecting the structure of economic growth, even as the country records 3% GDP growth.
At a time of deepening global polarisation, rising conflict and shrinking space for dialogue, Pakistan is stepping into a historic role. Diplomatic engagements in Islamabad, bringing together regional powers amid the Iran crisis, signal both urgency and opportunity.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian ships approaching ports in the Strait of Hormuz would be "immediately eliminated" on Monday, as the U.S. started its blockade.
The U.S. military began a blockade of Iran's ports on Monday, President Donald Trump said, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against its Gulf neighbours' ports after talks in Islamabad on ending the war broke down at the weekend.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that talks with Pakistan had been positive, while Türkiye stressed the importance of stronger ties between Kabul and Islamabad.
Centre-right Peter Magyar's Tisza Party has won a landslide in Hungary after a night of counting in the Hungarian election. Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after 16 years in power. "We have done it. Tisza and Hungary have won this election", Magyar said to cheering supporters in Budapest.
Italy has suspended a long-standing defence cooperation agreement with Israel, marking a sharp shift in relations as tensions in the Middle East escalate.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing legislation that would allow the UK to adopt new EU laws without full parliamentary votes, aiming to speed alignment with European rules in key areas such as trade, energy and food standards.
The European Union has reached a preliminary agreement to restrict foreign metal imports, nearly halving tariff-free steel volumes and imposing 50 per cent tariffs on excess shipments to protect domestic industry.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has secured a parliamentary majority for the Liberal Party of Canada, strengthening his ability to govern amid mounting economic pressures, including a trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump.
North Korea conducted a complex test-firing of strategic cruise missiles and advanced anti-warship munitions on Sunday. The drills, reported by state media on Tuesday, were framed as critical operational efficiency trials for Pyongyang's newest major surface combatant, the destroyer Choe Hyon.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment