WASHINGTON — Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s bold move meeting Hamas terrorists in-person during the cease-fire negotiations last week played a significant role in securing the historic peace deal that saw an end to the war in Gaza, sources tell The Post.
Seeing the return of the remaining Israeli hostages was a feat considered nearly impossible by their doubters — with even Witkoff acknowledging the difficulty of the challenge in a post to X on Monday as the Israeli hostages were released.
“I wondered if I would ever see this day. It’s deeply gratifying to know that so many families will finally have their loved ones home,” he said. “Today, twenty families are spared the unbearable pain of not knowing if they will ever see their loved ones again.”
Hours after arriving in Egypt last Wednesday, the duo helped push through remaining hurdles preventing Hamas from signing on to the US-brokered peace deal, which brought the bloody conflict to a close and secured the return of the remaining Israeli hostages taken during Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.
“They thought it would be helpful to get all parties — for them to at least meet them for the final stage, tying the knot on this thing,” a source familiar with the process told The Post, noting that the exchange was “a long time coming.”
Also instrumental was their prowess in dealing with Qatar, which joined the US, Turkey and Egypt in supporting the negotiations.
“[Kushner and Witkoff] leaned on the prime minister of Qatar and his negotiating team to help bridge the gap between the two parties,” the source said, adding that the Qataris “just trust those two guys.”
Axios was first to report the meeting between the envoys and Hamas.
Kushner previously had soaring success in pursuing peace in the Middle East during Trump’s first administration, sealing the historic Abraham Accords that normalized Israel’s relations with several Arab states, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
The second Trump administration now seeks to expand the Abraham Accords to other nations, such as Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, sources familiar have told The Post.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sherren Haskel also credited the pair’s work on bringing Qatar to the table as having been a driving factor in the success of the negotiations during an interview with The Post on Thursday.
“The pressure on Hamas and the agreement comes from pressure from Qatar and Turkey on Hamas,” she said. “Think about it, the Hamas leadership is living in luxurious hotels with very fat bank accounts and businesses in Qatar and Turkey.
“It would be extremely easy for Qatar and Turkey to pressure Hamas towards that, and the good relationship that President Trump [and his administration] has with these countries and the open conversation, I think, played a huge part in creating that pressure on Hamas.”
Witkoff and Kushner will remain involved as the next phases of the cease-fire deal unfold.
“[E]ven in this moment of relief and happiness, my heart aches for those whose loved ones will not return alive,” the special envoy said. “Bringing their bodies home is a must and an act of dignity and honors their memory forever.”
I can’t help but feel the presence of my son Andrew at this moment,” he added of his son who died of an opioid overdose in 2011. “I am profoundly grateful for the indomitable spirit of President Trump. This day would not have been possible without him.”
