Kushner Says US Used Israel’s Isolation After Doha Strike To Secure Gaza Deal
By The Media Line Staff
President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner said US negotiators capitalized on Israel’s international isolation after its failed September 2025 strike against Hamas leaders in Doha to pressure Israel into accepting the hostage and ceasefire agreement that ended the Gaza war.
Speaking at a security conference in Ukraine, Kushner described the Sept. 9, 2025, Israeli operation in Qatar as both a military failure and a diplomatic setback that gave Washington leverage in subsequent negotiations.
“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,” Kushner said.
He added, “But ultimately it turned out to be great for them and great for the people of Gaza.”
Israeli warplanes carried out the Doha strike in an attempt to kill senior Hamas political leaders. The senior officials survived, while several lower-ranking Hamas members and bodyguards were killed along with a Qatari security officer.
The operation drew widespread diplomatic condemnation, including from Qatar and the UN Security Council. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently expressed regret to Qatar and promised that Israel would not violate Qatari territory again.
Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff later brokered an October 2025 ceasefire agreement built around a 20-point plan that halted the fighting in Gaza.
During the agreement’s first phase, Hamas freed the remaining living Israeli hostages. Israel, in return, carried out a partial troop withdrawal and released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Further implementation of the plan has largely stalled over Hamas’ refusal to fully disarm. Hamas has rejected demands to hand over its small arms and dismantle its remaining military infrastructure.
Israel has declined to proceed with additional phased troop withdrawals while those provisions remain unfulfilled, maintaining that further pullbacks depend on Hamas completing a comprehensive and verifiable disarmament.
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