Kushner says US used Israel's 'isolation' after ‘terrible’ Doha strike to force Gaza deal

U.S. special envoy and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, said the Trump administration used the global isolation of Israel following the unsuccessful strike in Doha, Qatar, last year to pressure Israel into accepting the Gaza peace deal. 

In a remote address to the Yalta European Strategy conference, Kushner called the Doha strike “unsuccessful,” while speaking about the diplomatic steps taken to secure a deal in Gaza. 

The Israeli Air Force struck a building in the Qatari capital of Doha on Sept. 9, 2025, in an attempt to eliminate senior Hamas officials. 

The officials were later reported to have met to discuss a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Hamas officials survived the attack, although a few security officers, including a Qatari officer, were killed in the strike. 

“And there, we used the errant strike, you know, Israel did the strike in Doha, which was a terrible thing and obviously, it was unsuccessful as a military operation and that led to Israel being globally isolated and we used that dynamic in order to push them into a deal that now today they're quite happy with,” Kushner said. 

🇺🇸🇶🇦🇮🇱🇵🇸⚡️Kushner used Doha attack to blackmail Israel into accepting terms in Gaza

US Special Envoy Jared Kushner dropped a little bombshell during an interview shared by Tabz Live, in which US President Trump’s son-in-law claimed that the Israeli strike on Doha in 2025 was… pic.twitter.com/a8elX8faa3

— Agoraphobic Journalist (@UnknownNewsMan) September 13, 2026

However, Israeli officials disputed Kushner’s characterization of the strike as “unsuccessful,” saying it contributed to the release of the hostages and the subsequent ceasefire in Gaza, while the IDF has continued striking senior Hamas officers involved in the Oct. 7 attack.

One Israeli official told i24 News that the Israeli assessment is “quite the opposite.”

“What led to the latest hostage deal was only the attack in Qatar, which made it clear once and for all that Israel is no longer hesitating,” the official said. “The message was clear: Hamas has no immunity.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party also pushed back against Kushner’s account of events.

“The prime minister’s decision to send the IDF into Gaza City and to strike the Hamas leadership in Qatar, together with the intense pressure exerted by President Trump, are what led Hamas to drop its demands and agree to release all the hostages remaining in Gaza,” Likud said in a statement.

The Israeli strike drew international condemnation, mostly from regional Arab and Muslim countries, as well as a rare warning from President Trump, who called Qatar “a strong Ally and friend of the U.S.” 

One month later, Trump announced a Gaza Peace Plan which led to the release of all the remaining Israeli hostages. 

Kushner also said the Israeli government was “a little uncomfortable with what we were pushing them to do, but ultimately it turned out to be great for them and it turned out to be great for the people of Gaza.” 

He told the conference attendees that the new Gaza government, apparently a reference to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), will assume responsibility “once we advance on the demilitarization.” 

Kushner’s latest remarks came a few days after he made critical statements about the Israeli government.

In a visit to Kyiv last week, Kushner said the Israeli government was acting “a little irrational” due to the upcoming elections in October.