A Strategic Pivot from Crisis
Jared Kushner, former senior adviser to the Trump administration, has provided an account of the diplomatic maneuvering that led to the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire agreement. Speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Kushner acknowledged that the US capitalized on the intense international backlash following Israel’s failed September 2025 military operation in Doha, Qatar, to compel the Israeli government toward a deal that leadership was initially hesitant to accept, reported The Jerusalem Post.
The Doha operation, which aimed to target senior Hamas political leadership, resulted in the deaths of several lower-ranking Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, but failed to neutralize the intended targets. The incident sparked widespread condemnation, with the UN Security Council and Qatar expressing significant diplomatic outrage. According to The Media Line, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to issue a formal expression of regret to Qatar, promising no further violations of Qatari territory.
Leveraging Isolation
Kushner described the Doha strike as a “terrible” and “unsuccessful” military operation that left Israel globally isolated. He argued that this diplomatic vulnerability created a unique window for the US to exert pressure. “We used that dynamic in order to push them into a deal that now today they’re quite happy with,” Kushner stated. He noted that while Israeli officials were “uncomfortable” with the US pressure at the time, the subsequent agreement—which included a 20-point plan for prisoner releases and troop withdrawals—has been framed by his team as a strategic success.
The agreement reached in October 2025 facilitated the release of remaining living Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops. However, the implementation of the deal has faced persistent hurdles, primarily regarding Hamas’s refusal to disarm. Israel has maintained that further troop withdrawals are conditional on a verifiable disarmament process, a point that remains a primary friction point.
Conflicting Narratives
The account provided by Kushner has met with direct pushback from Israeli officials. According to i24NEWS, officials in Jerusalem rejected the characterization that diplomatic isolation paved the way for the deal. Instead, they argued that the Doha strike was essential because it signaled to Hamas that the group possessed “no immunity” and that there was “no immunity for murderers anywhere.” This perspective frames the operation not as a diplomatic liability, but as a necessary demonstration of force that compelled Hamas to negotiate from a position of weakness.
The discrepancy highlights a fundamental divide in how the aftermath of the Doha strike is perceived. While Washington emphasizes the diplomatic cost of the strike as a mechanism for external pressure, Israeli officials prioritize the tactical signal sent to Hamas, viewing the operation as a deterrent rather than an embarrassment.
Next Steps
As of late 2026, the long-term governance of Gaza remains in flux. Kushner noted that a new governing structure is expected to assume control as demilitarization efforts proceed. However, with Hamas maintaining its military infrastructure and Israel refusing to complete further withdrawals, the path to a sustainable postwar arrangement remains highly uncertain. The ability of the current framework to withstand these ongoing security challenges continues to be a central point of contention for both US and Israeli policymakers.