Kushner vows reconstruction aid won’t go to Hamas-controlled areas

President Trump’s son-in-law calls for swift reconstruction of areas of Gaza under IDF control but emphasizes money for rebuilding will not go to Hamas-controlled parts of the Strip.

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and confidant Jared Kushner vowed this week that foreign aid earmarked for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip will not be sent to areas of Gaza still under Hamas control.

Speaking on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Vice President JD Vance and White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff at an American facility in southern Israel used to monitor the implementation of the Gaza peace plan, Kushner said the Trump administration is looking to promote the rapid rebuilding of areas in Gaza that are under IDF control.

“As far as the demilitarization goes, once the ISF is up, there needs to be a security force that they can feel safe from in order for the transition to be complete. So that needs to happen,” Kushner said, referring to the international interim security force being formed by Egypt with soldiers from several other Muslim-majority states.

“There are considerations…happening now in the area that the IDF controls. As long as that can be secured to start the construction as a new Gaza in order to give the Palestinians living in Gaza place to go, a place to get jobs, a place to live. So that is one of the many things being considered.”

Acknowledging Israeli concerns about Hamas using reconstruction aid for its own benefit, Kushner added that no money for rebuilding would be distributed to areas under Hamas control.

“No reconstruction funds will be going into areas that Hamas still controls,” Kushner said.

As part of phase one of the Trump administration’s 20-point peace plan, the IDF withdrew earlier this month from close to a quarter of the Gaza Strip but still remains in control of more than half of the coastal enclave.