Overview

• Jared Kushner joined U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in negotiations in Sharm El Sheikh, met Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, and attended the Israeli cabinet session that ratified the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.
• President Trump publicly defended tapping Kushner for the effort, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited Kushner and Witkoff for helping bring the agreement together during a Cabinet meeting.
• Kushner holds no formal government post and is serving as an unpaid adviser, with officials saying his involvement ramped up in the past week and that he remains on standby to support implementation.
• The White House dismissed conflict-of-interest questions over Kushner’s Gulf business ties, which include reported funding of $2 billion from Saudi Arabia and $1.2 billion from Qatar’s fund and Abu Dhabi’s Lunate, plus a recent $55 billion Electronic Arts deal with Saudi PIF and Silver Lake.
• U.S. officials say the ceasefire could open the door to broader regional normalization, building on the Abraham Accords, as the administration also socializes postwar governance concepts that have included technical input from Tony Blair.