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.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was talking to the right people in Iran to make a deal on Tuesday (24 March), as Pakistan's Prime Minister offered to host peace talks between the two countries to bring about an end to the conflict.
Pakistan offered to host talks between Iran and the U.S. to bring about an end to the Middle East conflict on Tuesday (24 March), as U.S. President Donald Trump repeated that Washington was speaking to Tehran, despite the White House downplaying earlier comments by Trump saying the same thing.
Voting has ended in Denmark’s parliamentary election, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seeking a third term after a campaign shaped by tensions with the U.S. over Greenland and mounting domestic concerns.
Türkiye is pursuing a cautious approach to the escalating Middle East conflict while maintaining regional ties, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday, warning against actions that could deepen instability.
The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada Express regional jet were killed after it collided with a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia airport late on Sunday, in an incident that closed the airport, authorities and U.S. media said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was talking to the right people in Iran to make a deal on Tuesday (24 March), as Pakistan's Prime Minister offered to host peace talks between the two countries to bring about an end to the conflict.
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Afghan authorities say Pakistani jets entered northern Afghanistan, while Pakistan insists its actions target terrorism, highlighting continued strain after a temporary Eid ceasefire ended.
Voting has ended in Denmark’s parliamentary election, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seeking a third term after a campaign shaped by tensions with the U.S. over Greenland and mounting domestic concerns.
Eurozone private sector growth almost stalled this month, a key survey showed on Tuesday, adding to evidence that the bloc is already feeling economic fallout from the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, with inflation rising and growth slowing.
China is raising domestic petrol and diesel prices under temporary measures to manage a sharp surge in global oil costs, aiming to support fuel suppliers while maintaining market stability during a period of heightened volatility.
Russia launched drones and missiles overnight on Tuesday at Ukraine, killing at least three people, damaging houses and triggering fires, Ukrainian officials said.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Monday (23 March) that Britain must plan for the possibility that the Iran war could continue for some time, and added that he had no "meaningful concerns" about energy supply.
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