Washington, D.C. – October 20, 2025 – In a candid interview aired on CBS's 60 Minutes Sunday night, Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a pivotal figure in brokering the recent Gaza ceasefire, firmly dismissed the prospect of American soldiers participating in the disarmament of Hamas militants. Joined by U.S. Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Kushner outlined phase two of the Trump administration's ambitious 20-point peace plan, stressing that an international stabilization force—rather than U.S. boots on the ground—would lead efforts to demilitarize the enclave, build local governance, and foster long-term security.
The interview, conducted by veteran correspondent Lesley Stahl and broadcast just days after the fragile October 13 ceasefire agreement took effect, provided rare insights into the high-stakes negotiations that ended nearly two years of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. The war, ignited by Hamas's October 7, 2023, attacks that killed over 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 hostages, had claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, displaced nearly the entire 2.2 million population of Gaza, and reduced swaths of the territory to rubble. Kushner, drawing on his experience from Trump's first term—including the Abraham Accords—described the deal as a "100% success" in his mind, crediting Trump's personal commitment and the envoys' unconventional, business-like approach to diplomacy.
Kushner, who has no formal government title but was granted broad authority by Trump, elaborated on the plan's second phase during the 30-minute segment. "The goal is to create an International Stabilization Force," he said, emphasizing that this multinational body would oversee Hamas's disarmament, establish a technocratic Palestinian government, and train a local police force to keep Gaza "secure and terror-free." When Stahl pressed on whether U.S. troops might deploy if Hamas resists, Kushner was unequivocal: "That's not the intent." He added that President Trump "wants to see this done" and is "fully committed to seeing it completed," but the heavy lifting would fall to "regional and international partners."
Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and Trump's longtime golfing companion turned envoy, echoed the sentiment, calling the likelihood of American military involvement "highly unlikely." He detailed a key component of the disarmament process: a "weapons buy-back program" tied to amnesty for compliant militants and a formal disavowal of violence. "It's about incentives, not force," Witkoff explained, noting that the program would be funded through international donors, including Gulf states like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which played crucial mediation roles in the initial ceasefire talks. This approach, Witkoff argued, avoids the pitfalls of past U.S. interventions in the region, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where American troops became entangled in prolonged occupations.
The 60 Minutes segment, which included an extended online version released Monday morning, came amid early tests of the ceasefire. Just hours before the broadcast, Israeli airstrikes targeted alleged Hamas positions in southern Gaza after militants fired on IDF troops near Rafah, prompting accusations of violations from both sides. As of Monday, 20 living Israeli hostages had been released in the initial 72-hour window following the deal's activation on October 10, with Israel reciprocating by freeing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including some convicted of terrorism-related offenses. However, 16 of the 28 deceased hostages' bodies remain unrecovered, with Kushner expressing cautious optimism that Hamas is "acting in good faith" to locate them through U.S.-Israel joint coordination centers.
The negotiations, which culminated in a signing ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13 attended by Trump, were marked by dramatic turning points. Witkoff revealed a personal connection with Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, forged over shared grief—both men had lost sons, Witkoff to illness and al-Hayya to an Israeli strike in Doha on September 9. That incident, which killed three Hamas and Qatari mediators, nearly derailed talks until Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a rare apology to Qatar's emir, a concession pushed by the U.S. envoys. "It had to happen," Witkoff said, describing how the call thawed frozen relations and paved the way for direct, albeit secret, U.S.-Hamas meetings at the Four Seasons Hotel in Egypt.
Kushner, who toured Gaza post-ceasefire, painted a harrowing picture of the destruction: "It looked almost like a nuclear bomb had been set off." Yet, when Stahl asked if Israel's actions constituted genocide—a charge leveled by human rights groups and echoed in international forums like the International Court of Justice—both envoys rejected it outright. "Absolutely not," Kushner replied, framing the conflict as a necessary response to Hamas's aggression. Witkoff added, "This was a war started by terrorists hiding among civilians." The response drew immediate backlash on social media, with critics accusing the pair of downplaying civilian casualties, estimated by Gaza health authorities at over 67,000 dead, mostly non-combatants.
The interview also addressed persistent questions about conflicts of interest. Kushner and Witkoff, both real estate magnates with deep ties to Gulf investors, faced scrutiny over potential personal gains from Gaza's reconstruction. Kushner, whose firm Affinity Partners received $2 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund during Trump's first term, quipped: "What people call conflicts of interest, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships." Witkoff, who has divested from his family business and receives no salary, insisted neither would bid on post-war contracts. Critics, including a Guardian investigation published last week, warned that Kushner's 2024 Harvard remarks envisioning Gaza as a "beachfront property" could lead to lucrative redevelopment deals, potentially enriching the envoys at the expense of Palestinian self-determination.
Phase two of the plan, now the focus of urgent diplomacy, envisions a multinational force—potentially led by Arab states like Egypt and Jordan, with UN oversight—deploying after Hamas's full disarmament. This would trigger Israel's complete withdrawal, the establishment of a demilitarized buffer zone, and a $50 billion reconstruction fund co-managed by Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Kushner, who collaborated with Blair for a year on governance models, stressed creating a "viable alternative" to Hamas rule: a technocratic administration prioritizing economic revival over ideology. "Build jobs, schools, and hope, and Hamas will fail," he predicted, anticipating militant pushback but betting on incentives like the weapons buy-back to erode support.
Witkoff, who sources say plans to step back from diplomacy to refocus on business after this phase, highlighted early wins: unfettered humanitarian aid has reached over 1 million Gazans since October 10, via U.S.-backed corridors. Yet challenges loom. Hamas has denied prior reports of disarmament willingness, insisting on a full Israeli pullout first, while Israeli hardliners decry the deal as too lenient. On X (formerly Twitter), reactions ranged from praise for Trump's "lone ranger" envoys to skepticism, with users noting the nuclear-like devastation and questioning the deal's longevity.
As Kushner and Witkoff prepare to land in Israel Monday for follow-up talks with Netanyahu—joined by Vice President JD Vance—the stakes could not be higher. "We can't afford to fail," Kushner told Stahl, invoking Trump's directive for a "lasting peace" after 3,000 years of strife. With aid trucks rolling and families reuniting, the world watches whether this deal, born of apologies and backroom bonds, can transcend the "stupid word games" of decades past.
The broader implications ripple across the Middle East. The Abraham Accords' expansion, long a Trump goal, hinges on Gaza's stability; Saudi Arabia has signaled normalization with Israel if Palestinian progress materializes. Yet, with Hamas remnants reportedly reconstituting in Rafah tunnels and international calls for Palestinian state recognition growing, the path to a "terror-free" Gaza remains fraught. Analysts warn of a "fragile truce," citing weekend clashes as harbingers of relapse.
For Gazans, the ceasefire offers tentative relief. Displaced families have begun trickling north through the Netzarim Corridor, escorted by U.S. security contractors—a first in years. Witkoff's August visit to a controversial Gaza Humanitarian Fund site underscored the aid push, though UN reports faulted distribution delays for exacerbating famine risks. Palestinian voices, muted in the interview, echo through Al Jazeera dispatches: hopes for rebuilding tempered by disarmament fears, seen as a prelude to occupation.
In Washington, the deal burnishes Trump's foreign policy credentials ahead of midterms, but Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders have decried the envoys' "half-measures," urging stricter oversight on arms flows. As phase two unfolds, the International Stabilization Force's composition—rumored to include Egyptian-trained Palestinian units—will test alliances. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, a key mediator, has pledged support, but Jordan's King Abdullah II remains wary of refugee influxes.
Kushner's confidence stems from the plan's roots in pragmatism: an "all-in" hostage release to neutralize Hamas's leverage, phased withdrawals mapped in Cairo, and economic lures over military might. "Hamas gained nothing from holding those 20 alive—they became a liability," he noted, referencing the group's losses: over half of Gaza uninhabitable, tunnels flooded. Yet, the human toll lingers, with footage of cratered landscapes evoking apocalypse.
With Witkoff's potential exit looming, the onus shifts to career diplomats like Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump's October 13 Israel visit, where crowds chanted "Thank you, Trump!" at Hostages Square, underscored the administration's narrative: a dealmaker's triumph. But as Monday's violence underscores, true peace demands more than words—or buy-backs. The envoys' vision of a redeveloped, stable Gaza hangs in the balance, a test of whether incentives can outpace ideology in one of the world's most intractable conflicts.
