Jared Kushner admits 'delays', as scant $2.45bn starter plan for Gaza unveiled

Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 09/23/2026 - 20:29 This comes as Israeli air strikes have continued on at least a weekly basis since the October 2025 ceasefire deal

US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, far left, sits next to former UK prime minister Tony Blair, who is next to US special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff at a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City, on 22 September 2026 (X/@USAmbUN) Off

US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has no official role within the administration but serves as one of its top peace negotiators, led the unveiling on Wednesday of a $2.45bn starter plan for rebuilding Gaza, as members of the "Board of Peace" gathered on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

Kushner, a longtime family friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is an executive board member, while Trump is its chairman.

The plan, devised by several board officials, consists of 66 projects to rehabilitate the economic infrastructure of the devastated enclave, the Reuters news agency reported. Little detail was immediately available.

Kushner himself admitted on Wednesday that the board has faced "delays" since it was formed 11 months ago, Reuters noted.

"Different delays on different things, for whatever reason," he said.

"We're just refining, sharpening the axe, getting ready for when we get to the time to cut the tree... hopefully, that will be very, very soon."

Since the Trump-brokered ceasefire came into effect on 10 October 2025, Israel has carried out near-weekly air strikes in Gaza, killing civilians each time, local media has shown.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reported a total of 1,402 known deaths as a result of Israeli attacks since the ceasefire. The total number of dead since October 2023 is just shy of 74,000.

"We want to give people a new chance, and we want to make sure that both the Palestinians in Gaza and Israeli communities living across the border have a chance to put behind them this fear of violence that has driven their lives for so many years," Nickolay Mladenov, the point man for Gaza on the executive board, said at Wednesday's meeting.

But over the next decade, the Board of Peace estimated it will take more than $71bn to fully rebuild Gaza.

Power lines, water pipes, and a full re-establishment of the most basic, foundational systems will be required after Israel has spent nearly three years using some of its heaviest weaponry repeatedly on an area half the size of New York City.

Board of Peace or diplomatic cover?

Last month, the head of a coalition of aid groups warned that the Board of Peace is "failing" in Gaza and has “functioned to further entrench Israel’s unlawful presence" in the territory.

Aid chief tells UN that US-backed Board of Peace is 'failing' Gaza Read More »

Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies, told the UN Security Council that the organisation was enabling Israel's obstruction of humanitarian aid.

She said Israel was rejecting scissors, crutches, wheelchairs, and prosthetic limbs as “dual-use” instruments, has barred specialised medical staff, and placed restrictions on engine oil so severe that it cost 45 times its normal price.

Israel also rejected watermelon and onions under an unpublished “humanitarian policy”.

"What is unclear is why the mandate handed by this council to the Board of Peace is being used to violate the most fundamental rights of the Palestinians in Gaza and the most basic rules of humanitarian law," Rayburn said. "This cannot be the new status quo."

The Board of Peace has also hardened the conditions for an Israeli withdrawal from the enclave after its senior officials met with Netanyahu some six weeks ago.

The board linked any Israeli withdrawal beyond the Yellow Line, which divides Gaza into areas under Israeli and Palestinian control, to the complete disarmament of Hamas, abandoning the phased approach it initially presented.

“Contrary to inaccurate reports, we note that the withdrawal of the IDF beyond the Yellow Line will take place only once decommissioning is complete, as Hamas committed to the mediators. This applies to light weapons, heavy weapons and the tunnels alike,” it said.

The Yellow Line was established following the October ceasefire agreement.

Israel has since seized additional Palestinian territory and now controls more than 60 percent of the enclave, with Netanyahu even saying that the aim is to increase to around 70 percent.

Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0