The Media Line: Witkoff, Kushner Meet Netanyahu as Deceased Hostage’s Family Urges Pressure on Hamas   

Witkoff, Kushner Meet Netanyahu as Deceased Hostage’s Family Urges Pressure on Hamas   

By The Media Line Staff  

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday as Washington advances its 20-point plan for postwar Gaza, the White House said.  

The discussions followed Kushner’s presentation in Davos on Thursday, outlining his vision for a rebuilt “New Gaza,” including a plan to reconstruct and economically develop the war-torn Strip.   

American officials said coordination with Israel is ongoing to recover the body of the final remaining hostage, Ran Gvili.   

Gvili’s family said they are concerned that pressure is being directed at Israel to proceed to phase two of the ceasefire agreement rather than at Hamas to return the last deceased hostage’s remains.   

“President [Donald] Trump himself said this week in Davos that Hamas knows where our son is. We wonder why the pressure is being directed at the wrong place. The pressure should not be on the Israeli government to continue to fulfill its part of the agreement while Hamas is deceiving the entire world and refusing to return the last kidnapped person, in accordance with the agreement it signed,” the family said.  

They called on Netanyahu to convey to the US envoys that progress toward regional calm and reconstruction should be linked to the recovery of their son’s remains.  

Separately, Ali Shaath, who heads a US-backed transitional Palestinian committee assigned to temporarily manage Gaza, said Thursday that the Rafah border crossing is expected to reopen next week. The Gaza side of the crossing has been under Israeli military control since 2024 and functions as the main route in and out of the territory for most residents.  

Despite Shaath’s statement, Netanyahu’s office has not formally confirmed that Rafah will reopen. Instead, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement to reporters citing an anonymous official who said the security cabinet is expected to take up the matter at the beginning of the week.