US President Donald Trump was presiding over a policy meeting on the Gaza war 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 were discussing all aspects of the Gaza issue, including escalating food aid deliveries, the hostage crisis, 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 in Trump's first term on Middle East issues. Blair, who was prime minister during the 2003 Iraq war, has also been active on Middle East issues.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff previewed the meeting in an appearance on Fox News' "Special Reporting with Bret Baier" on Tuesday.
"It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day (in Gaza), and many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump's humanitarian motives here," Witkoff said.
In February, Trump proposed a US 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 redevelopment idea to turn Gaza into the "Riviera of the Middle East."
The plan echoed an idea that Kushner had proposed 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."
Plans for a ceasefire in Gaza
Trump had promised a quick end to the war in Gaza during last year's presidential campaign, but a resolution has been elusive seven months into his second term.
Trump's term began with a ceasefire that lasted two months. Since then, Israel has returned to war with Hamas. Multiple rounds of hostage talks have failed to yield results.
“President Trump has been clear that he wants the war to end, and he wants peace and prosperity for everyone in the region. The White House has nothing additional to share on the meeting at this time," a second White House official said.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.