In a week marked by high-stakes diplomacy and bold visions for the future of the Middle East, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Donald Trump convened at the White House to discuss the postwar fate of Gaza. The August 27 meeting, which also included Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner, came amid intensifying Israeli military operations in Gaza and a deadlock in ceasefire negotiations with Hamas.
According to The Hill, the White House gathering was part of a broader American effort to shape what officials are calling the "day after" scenario for Gaza—essentially, how the territory might be governed and rebuilt once the current conflict ends. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy for peace missions, told Fox News, “We’ve got a large meeting in the White House tomorrow, chaired by the president, and it’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day that I think many people are going to be, they’re going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is. And it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar was also in Washington, meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to coordinate diplomatic efforts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has insisted that a civilian authority should run Gaza—but one with no ties to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, and with Israel retaining security control. Netanyahu’s vision stands in contrast to Blair’s, who has argued for a third-party governance model to foster reconstruction and peace.
Blair’s involvement is no accident. As The Independent reports, the former prime minister has been working for months on a postwar plan for Gaza, consulting with regional stakeholders and leveraging his experience as the Quartet’s special representative—a role he held for nearly eight years, focusing on Israeli-Palestinian peace. Blair’s approach, as he’s stated in interviews, is that Gaza should be governed by neither Israel nor Hamas. Instead, he envisions a transitional international coalition working alongside local administration, a model he believes could lay the groundwork for long-term stability.
During the White House meeting, Blair presented polling data from his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which surveyed Gazans in May 2025. The results were telling: only 4% of respondents supported Hamas as the sole governing power, while 35% favored the Palestinian Authority. A significant 27% backed a transitional international coalition, and another 27% preferred a national unity government including both Hamas and Fatah. Perhaps most strikingly, Blair shared that many Gazans aspired for their territory to emulate the prosperity of Dubai, with 15% favoring a Turkish model and 14% looking to Singapore as inspiration. “The people of Gaza desire new leadership and even have dreams of becoming the new Dubai,” Blair reportedly told Trump, according to The Times.
Trump’s own proposals for Gaza have drawn both intrigue and criticism. He has floated the idea of the U.S. taking ownership of Gaza and transforming it into a beach resort—an idea quickly dubbed the "Gaza Riviera." While the president has said he does not support forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza, his envoy Witkoff has suggested that rebuilding the territory could take decades and that temporary relocation of Palestinians to third countries might make sense. Israeli officials are reportedly in quiet talks with countries in Africa and the Middle East to take in Palestinians from Gaza, a move that, according to international law experts cited by The Hill, could constitute a war crime if done forcibly.
Jared Kushner, though not holding an official government post, remains a key player in shaping Trump’s Middle East strategy. He and Blair have been collaborating for months on alternatives to Hamas rule in Gaza, seeking ways to encourage investment and create an environment conducive to reconstruction. As a source told Axios, “They tried to give an idea of how Gaza could be governed and how you create an environment for investment so that reconstruction can happen. The goal was to run the ideas by Trump to see if he likes them and want to move forward, so that Witkoff and Rubio can use them.”
Humanitarian concerns were also high on the agenda. The parties discussed increasing food aid to Gaza and what could be done to free hostages still held by Hamas. Trump has made clear that he supports Israeli demands for the release of all hostages, both living and deceased, in a single transfer rather than over an extended period. “That’s President Trump’s official position,” Witkoff confirmed on Fox News. “I think that he has said to himself, you don’t need to keep those hostages. We’ll have a negotiation if they want as to what next day looks like in Gaza after this is all done, and what the definition of Hamas is. We can talk about those things.”
International impatience with Israel’s self-defense justification for its military actions is mounting, especially in light of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Qatar and Egypt have criticized Israel for not responding to a ceasefire proposal accepted by Hamas, which closely follows a previous U.S. plan. Netanyahu, however, remains firm in his conditions: Hamas must release around 20 living and 30 deceased hostages taken during the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, and must demilitarize and relinquish power in Gaza.
In the UK, Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for recognition of a Palestinian state at the upcoming UN summit in September, focusing on diplomatic recognition rather than hands-on involvement in postwar planning. Blair’s efforts, by contrast, are aimed at leveraging Trump’s professed horror at the suffering in Gaza to open more humanitarian aid channels and flesh out the "Gaza Riviera" proposals. The two tracks—Starmer’s at the UN and Blair’s in Washington—reflect the complex web of international responses to the crisis.
The Tony Blair Institute, which now boasts over 900 staff worldwide and major donors such as Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has played a significant role in shaping policy and providing data-driven insights. The Institute’s polling showed that while 30% of Gazans expressed a desire to leave the region permanently, just over a third refused to leave, underscoring the deep attachment many feel to their land despite the devastation.
Blair’s connections, both in the UK and the U.S., have helped him remain a central figure in global diplomacy. His ties to Trump, Kushner, and influential figures in both countries have enabled him to act as an informal bridge, smoothing potential conflicts and keeping lines of communication open. As The Independent observed, “Blair, the one-man, unofficial UK ambassador for everything, will be where he most loves to be – in the rooms where power is wielded and the fates of many others are decided.”
While the future of Gaza remains uncertain and the challenges immense, the flurry of diplomatic activity in Washington this week signals renewed efforts to find a path forward. Whether the competing visions—Netanyahu’s security-first approach, Trump’s resort-driven optimism, or Blair’s third-party governance model—can coalesce into a workable solution is still an open question. But for now, the world is watching as power players on both sides of the Atlantic try to shape the fate of a land scarred by conflict and yearning for peace.