On August 27, 2025, the White House became the site of a high-stakes meeting that could shape the future of Gaza—and, by extension, the wider Middle East. President Donald Trump convened his closest advisers, including son-in-law Jared Kushner, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Israeli official Ron Dermer, to hash out ideas for what comes after the guns fall silent in Gaza. The gathering, which lasted over an hour and included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff, was anything but routine. The topic at hand: Who, if anyone, should govern the war-torn enclave once the fighting stops, and how can the region be rebuilt?
According to Axios, Kushner and Blair entered the meeting with proposals they’d previously discussed with Witkoff and others, but never before with Trump himself. Their aim was to present “an idea of how Gaza could be governed and how you create an environment for investment so that reconstruction can happen.” A source with direct knowledge told Axios, “The goal was to run the ideas by Trump to see if he likes them and wants to move forward, so that Witkoff and Rubio can use them.”
But as the meeting unfolded, Trump—never one to shy away from direct input—asked his team to bring in Ron Dermer, a key adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Dermer, who was already in the White House to present Israel’s operational plan for occupying Gaza City and for a humanitarian surge during the operation, was asked to share Israel’s perspective on a post-war Gaza. “The president wanted to hear from him what are Israel's needs and red lines in a day-after scenario,” one source recounted to Axios.
Dermer’s message, as reported by both Axios and the Daily Mail, was unequivocal: Israel does not want to occupy Gaza for the long haul, nor does it seek to expel the Palestinian population—despite more extreme proposals floating within the Israeli government. Instead, Israel is searching for a viable alternative to Hamas to govern Gaza. “Dermer's message was: As long as our conditions are met, we will be flexible about everything else,” a source told Axios.
The stakes could hardly be higher. Over the past two years, more than 62,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing conflict, according to Axios. The war has left Gaza devastated, its infrastructure in ruins and its people desperate for relief. Yet, even as the death toll mounts, the path forward remains murky. Hamas has accepted a ceasefire and hostage deal proposal from Qatari and Egyptian mediators, but Netanyahu, under intense domestic and international pressure, has not yet reciprocated. For now, Israel’s operation to attack and occupy Gaza City is expected to intensify in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the question of who will govern Gaza once the dust settles looms large. Kushner and Blair, despite receiving Trump’s blessing to continue their work, have not yet settled on a concrete proposal for governance or security. The White House, according to sources cited by Axios and the Daily Mail, views the development of such a plan as a critical tool—one that must be ready when the Israeli operation concludes. “The goal is for the U.S. to lead the effort to find an internationally accepted governance structure in Gaza that will allow Israel to pull out without deteriorating back to the old reality again from a security standpoint,” a source explained to both outlets.
Kushner’s reemergence in Trump’s inner circle is itself a story. After stepping away from politics alongside his wife Ivanka earlier in the year, Kushner has returned to the fray, advising on Trump’s Middle Eastern strategy from outside the formal administration. His renewed influence is evident in his partnership with Blair, a figure whose history in the region is long and complicated.
Blair, who served as the Quartet’s special envoy on the Middle East from 2007 to 2015, has spent months working with Kushner on post-war plans for Gaza, according to The Irish Times. Blair’s involvement is not without controversy. Many in the Arab world still remember—and resent—his role in the 2003 Iraq War, launched alongside then-US President George W. Bush. Since leaving office, Blair has sought to build bridges in the region, supporting Israeli withdrawal plans and advocating for a roadmap toward Palestinian statehood. Yet, tangible progress has been elusive.
Blair’s current position is clear: neither Israel nor Hamas should govern Gaza. Instead, he has called for a third-party authority to take the reins as part of a new peace deal. “Tony Blair has worked for this since leaving office. It has never been about relocating Gazans, which is a proposal TBI has never authored, developed or endorsed,” the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) stated in response to reports that it had participated in discussions about a so-called “Trump Riviera” project for Gaza. The plan, floated by Trump in February 2025, envisioned transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”—a vision that drew international condemnation for its apparent endorsement of forced relocation of millions of Palestinians. TBI insists it does not support such proposals, emphasizing its commitment to “building a better Gaza for Gazans.”
Yet, the presence of Blair at the negotiating table may also be strategic, aimed at shoring up support among Arab nations for whatever post-war arrangement emerges. His long-standing ties in the region, forged during his Quartet tenure, could prove valuable in building the broad coalition needed to implement any governance plan.
As the White House works to finalize its vision, the messaging from Trump himself has been characteristically mixed. On August 25, he told reporters there could be a “conclusive ending” in Gaza within two to three weeks, only to temper expectations the following day. “There’s nothing conclusive,” he admitted. “It’s been going on for a long time… thousands of years it’s been going on for… but hopefully we’re going to have things solved very quickly with regard to Gaza.”
Despite the lack of clear decisions, the urgency is palpable. As one source told the Daily Mail, the “president wants to solve Gaza” and advised to “stay tuned” for more details. But the challenges are immense: rebuilding a devastated enclave, securing a governance structure acceptable to all parties, and preventing a return to violence. The White House’s ambition to lead the process signals a desire to avoid past failures, but success will require more than good intentions and high-level meetings.
For now, the world watches and waits. The fate of Gaza—and the prospects for peace in the Middle East—hang in the balance, dependent on the outcome of these delicate, and often fraught, negotiations.