Kushner Unveils $2.45bn Gaza 'Starter Plan,' Admits Board of Peace Faces 'Delays' After 11 Months

Jared Kushner stood before members of the "Board of Peace" on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Wednesday and admitted his own project has stalled.

"Different delays on different things, for whatever reason," Kushner said, according to Reuters. "We're just refining, sharpening the axe, getting ready for when we get to the time to cut the tree... hopefully, that will be very, very soon."

The admission came as Kushner, who holds no official post in the Trump administration but functions as one of its top Middle East negotiators, led the unveiling of a $2.45bn "starter plan" for Gaza. The plan comprises 66 projects aimed at rehabilitating the territory's economic infrastructure, Reuters reported. Few further details were released.

Kushner is a longtime family friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sits on the Board of Peace's executive board. Donald Trump chairs the board.

The $2.45bn figure is a fraction of what the board itself says Gaza requires. Its own estimate puts the cost of full reconstruction over the next decade at more than $71bn, covering power lines, water systems and basic infrastructure after nearly three years of Israeli bombardment across an area roughly half the size of New York City.

The funding announcement arrives eleven months after the board's formation and nearly a year after the Trump-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. Since then, Israel has carried out near-weekly air strikes in Gaza that have killed civilians, according to local media accounts. Gaza's health ministry reported Wednesday that 1,402 people have died in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began. The total death toll since October 2023 stands at just under 74,000.

Aid Groups Say the Board Is Enabling Obstruction

Last month, Athena Rayburn, executive director of the Association of International Development Agencies, told the UN Security Council that the Board of Peace is "failing" and has "functioned to further entrench Israel's unlawful presence" in Gaza.

"What is unclear is why the mandate handed by this council to the Board of Peace is being used to violate the most fundamental rights of the Palestinians in Gaza and the most basic rules of humanitarian law. This cannot be the new status quo."

Rayburn detailed specific items Israel has rejected as "dual-use," including scissors, crutches, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. She said Israel has also barred specialized medical staff and restricted engine oil so severely that its price has risen 45 times above normal. Watermelon and onions have also been turned away under what Rayburn described as an unpublished "humanitarian policy."

Withdrawal Terms Hardened, Territory Expanded

Six weeks ago, senior Board of Peace officials met with Netanyahu and subsequently hardened the terms for any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, abandoning an earlier phased approach. The board now links any pullback beyond the so-called Yellow Line, the boundary set under the ceasefire dividing Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled areas, to the complete disarmament of Hamas, including light weapons, heavy weapons and tunnels.

Israel has meanwhile expanded its footprint in the enclave, now controlling more than 60 percent of Gaza. Netanyahu has said the goal is to push that figure to roughly 70 percent.