Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Jared Kushner have agreed that Israel will retain freedom of military action in Gaza, including the ability to carry out targeted killings, according to an Israeli political source cited by Channel 12.
The source said Netanyahu and Kushner also agreed that the first step toward disarming Gaza would be the surrender of Hamas weapons.
Their meeting was described as “very lengthy,” with discussions also covering measures aimed at preventing the spread of disease and epidemics in the Gaza Strip.
CNN, citing an Israeli source familiar with the talks, reported that Kushner urged Netanyahu not to place obstacles in the way of the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Separately, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a source from the Peace Council as saying Israeli officials had presented their security concerns during the meeting with Netanyahu, senior council officials and Kushner, who is serving as a senior envoy to US President Donald Trump.
According to the source, the council was treating Israel’s security concerns “very seriously.”
The discussions also reportedly produced broad agreement on the longer-term objective of fully disarming Hamas and Gaza before a complete Israeli withdrawal from the territory.
The source described the meeting as positive and said there was a shared willingness among the participants to give the diplomatic process a chance.
The reported understandings suggest Washington is seeking to keep the ceasefire process moving while allowing Israel to maintain significant security latitude in Gaza during the disarmament process.