US President's special representative and son-in-law Jared Kushner is scheduled to visit Israel next week to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip. This was reported by the "Axios" portal, citing sources familiar with the travel plan.
Modern.az reports that this will be Kushner's first visit to Israel since January. The visit will take place as the White House administration seeks to advance the next phase of its Gaza plan. The plan envisages the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the region.
A US official said that Washington and Israel agree on the strategic goal, but Israel has expressed certain concerns about the plan. According to him, one of the main goals of the visit is to ensure coordination between the parties. The official also noted that the official visit date may change.
At the end of July, US President Donald Trump announced that he had reached a "historic agreement" with the "Peace Council" on the complete disarmament of the Hamas group. According to the agreement, other armed groups in Gaza must also hand over their weapons.
However, on August 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly rejected the plan for the phased disarmament of Hamas and subsequent steps to implement a ceasefire.
According to "Axios", the White House assessed Netanyahu's statement as a pre-election "political game" rather than an official position. A US official said they understood the Israeli prime minister's political needs, but that it was not a problem as long as he complied with Washington's demands regarding preventing attacks in Gaza.
According to the publication, after the agreement, Israel significantly reduced the number of strikes on Gaza, and units of the Israeli Defense Forces withdrew to the "yellow line" where they were supposed to be deployed according to the agreement.
In addition to Kushner, high-level representatives of the "Peace Council" Nikolay Mladenov and other US officials are also expected to visit Israel.
After this, Kushner is scheduled to meet with mediators representing Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in Cairo. The parties are reportedly trying to reach a mutual understanding on the steps to be taken in the region over the next few months.
In July, Hamas announced that it was dissolving its government in Gaza and preparing to transfer power to a technical committee that would operate with the support of the UN.
