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Kushner seeks ceasefire push
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and envoy of U.S. President Donald Trump, is heading to Israel and Egypt next week to push efforts to fix a ceasefire in Gaza and salvage a roadmap Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected.
“Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump and his envoy on the file, is heading to Israel and Egypt next week”
An Associated Press report cited a Peace Council official saying Kushner would arrive in Israel on Sunday accompanied by the Council's High Representative Nikolai Miladinov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, before the delegation travels to Cairo for consultations on the future governing of the Gaza Strip.
The visit comes as Netanyahu rejected a 15-item roadmap approved by the Peace Council and supported by Hamas and backed directly by President Trump, who called it a "huge achievement."
In parallel with political differences, Al Jazeera reported that Israel returned to implementing its assassination policy in the sector after a period of restrictions imposed in response to American pressure aimed at creating a climate for implementing the next phase of the ceasefire agreement.
Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security said on Thursday that the head of Gaza governorate police, Gamal Abu Kamil, was martyred in an Israeli airstrike that targeted his vehicle on al-Rasheed Street in the south-west of Gaza City.
Rifts, rockets, and rhetoric
Israeli opposition to the Gaza plan is framed as a widening rift between the Israeli government and the Trump administration, with Netanyahu refusing any withdrawal of Israeli forces until Hamas is fully disarmed even though Hamas accepted a plan that confines and gathers its weapons within agreed mechanisms.
The Al-Monitor report said a U.S. official told AFP that "Such a trip is being discussed. The United States and Israel agree on the desired outcome in Gaza," while Netanyahu announced over the weekend he opposes Trump's latest plan for ending the Gaza war.
On the ground, Al Jazeera said the Hamas statement condemned Israeli army targeting of several Palestinians in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, which resulted in a martyr and others injured, and said those operations undermine the efforts of mediators and guarantors and the Peace Council.
In a separate thread of Israeli political rhetoric, DIE WELT reported that Itamar Ben-Gvir called for "targeted killings" and said, "I think targeted killings should be carried out in Gaza, with 30 to 40 being taken out each night."
Roya News likewise quoted Ben-Gvir saying, "I think targeted assassinations should be carried out in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night," while noting he does not control the military and cannot order strikes.
Humanitarian and medical stakes
Beyond diplomacy and battlefield tactics, TRT World reported that Palestinian cancer patients are dying at two to three times the pace they did before the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, after Israel destroyed Gaza's specialised cancer hospital last year.
“Israel destroyed Gaza's specialised cancer hospital last year, leaving an estimated 17,000 Palestinians with cancer”
TRT World said Israel blocks many from travelling for treatment after destroying the only local specialised facility, leaving an estimated 17,000 Palestinians with cancer without a local option for chemotherapy or other advanced treatment.
For Khuloud Abu Sahmoud, a Palestinian mother-of-two with advanced ovarian cancer, TRT World quoted her saying, "Every day my disease progresses, and my condition is tragic. My fingernails have all fallen out — I have none left. I am just waiting to die."
The same TRT World report said 11,000 people, including patients, had gone through Rafah since it reopened, fewer than half the number that had been expected under the ceasefire deal, and added that 20,000 patients, including 5,000 with cancer, are registered for treatment abroad but not yet permitted to leave.
Al-Jazeera Net, meanwhile, cited Gaza Health Ministry data indicating that Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement signed in October 2025 have left 1,260 Palestinians martyred and 4,154 others injured as of yesterday, even as it said the pace of strikes slowed over the past week following requests from Nikolai Miladinov and the council’s American adviser Ariyeh Leisten.
