Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner has said that if Hamas does not disarm in the next 60-90 days Israel will have US support to go and “finish the job” in Gaza.
Kushner made the statement following recent meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas to push forward the US-backed Gaza peace plan.
Earlier this month, the Israeli PM rejected the 15-point ceasefire plan put forward by Trump’s Board of Peace – which called for phased disarmament matched by withdrawal of Israeli forces – stating that no pull-out would occur before Hamas is completely disarmed.
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Kushner said: "We could be seeing progress in as little 30 days, hopefully on starting to take some of the weapons out, and hopefully filling in some of the tunnels as well in the next 60 to 90 days," adding that progress would require cooperation from both sides.
He went on: "For Israel, we think this is a win-win situation because if Hamas actually gives over the weapons and the tunnels… over the next 60 to 90 days, that obviously would be the elimination of a huge security threat for Israel. Almost an unthinkable achievement.
“And if they don't follow through now on their commitment, everyone will see that that they're not genuine about peace and then Israel will have a lot more support from the US and others to go and finish the job in the appropriate way.”
Kushner also told Fox News that Washington would not support rebuilding Gaza before demilitarisation, adding that the administration had addressed Israeli concerns about the Board of Peace roadmap and clarified that Israel’s right to act against imminent threats would not be restricted.
Netanyahu and representatives of the Board of Peace, the US-backed transitional international body overseeing postwar Gaza and chaired by Trump, held “deep and constructive” discussions on Monday, according to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
The sides agreed to establish two working groups, including one focused on the disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza.
After meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu on Gaza, Special Envoy Kushner told Fox News:
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) August 17, 2026
"We could be seeing progress in as little 30 days, hopefully on starting to take some of the weapons out, and hopefully filling in some of the tunnels as well in the next 60 to 90 days." pic.twitter.com/RKTyLsUcO1
A second working group will address sanitation, clean water and other public-health issues affecting Gaza’s population and Israel.
On Monday Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met Kushner and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s High Representative for Gaza, to discuss the next steps in implementing the roadmap.
Following the meeting, Herzog said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element” of the proposal. He also praised the Board of Peace’s efforts to promote a “brighter and more secure future” for Israelis, Palestinians and the broader region.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair, a member of the board’s executive committee, and Aryeh Lightstone, a senior adviser to the board, also attended.
The meetings came after a Hamas delegation began talks in Egypt on Sunday to look at alternative ways of advancing the 15-point roadmap, a official from the terror group told AFP.
The source was quoted as saying that talks would cover “the latest developments in the negotiations and the efforts being made to compel Israel to abide by the agreement,” apparently referring to previous Hamas statements that it would start handing its arms to a technocratic Palestinian body only after the Israel Defence Forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
The delegation, led by Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, started its meetings with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in the city of El-Alamein, situated on the Mediterranean coast north west of Cairo, the official said.
Leaders of the terrorist group also reportedly met Kushner.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday praised Netanyahu for insisting on the “genuine dismantling and demilitarisation” of Hamas and Gaza, but said defeating the terrorist group would require full Israeli control of the Strip, renewed Israeli settlement and the pursuit of Hamas terrorists worldwide.
Smotrich said that goal was incompatible with negotiations with Hamas leaders, “who should not be alive at all”.
On Tuesday, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that there was no disagreement between Israel and the United States over disarming Hamas and ensuring the terrorist group has no future in the Gaza Strip.
Huckabee, who attended meetings on Monday with Netanyahu, described the talks as “intense and thoughtful, but respectful”.
He rejected reports of a rift, saying some accounts of the discussions were “simply fake news” and “invented out of thin air”.
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