Kushner slams ‘stupid word games’ in Gaza ceasefire talks on ’60 Minutes’
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Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, dived into details about the Gaza ceasefire agreement and peace negotiations on Sunday’s “60 Minutes” after decades of “silly puns” in the region.
Kushner spoke with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff about their role in helping reach the agreement between Israel and Hamas after two years of war. Host Lesley Stahl noted that the duo relied on “highly personal techniques of real estate traders” that, unlike standard diplomatic techniques, involve “suspending presidential promises, protections or penalties.”
Kushner told Stahl that the issues were ultimately “simple” due to the difficulty of having to play the “silly word games” brought by diplomats.
’60 MINUTES’ HOST SLAMMED FOR ASKING FORMER HOSTAGE WHERE HAMAS STARVED HIM TO DEATH BECAUSE THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH FOOD
Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with US President Donald Trump’s special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at the president’s residence in Jerusalem on Thursday, October 9, 2025. (With the permission of the Presidency)
“We wanted the hostages to come out,” Kushner said. “We wanted a real ceasefire that both sides would respect. We needed a way to get humanitarian aid to people. And then we had to write all these complicated words to deal with 50 years of stupid word games that everyone in that region was used to playing. Both sides wanted the goal. And we needed to find a way to help everyone get there.”
During the interview, Stahl pressed Kushner and Witkoff about their past business dealings with Middle Eastern countries and whether they constituted a conflict of interest.
FORMER ISRAELI HOSTAGE SAID ’60 MINUTES’ TRUMP WAS THE ‘ONE PERSON’ WITH THE POWER TO END THE WAR IN GAZA
U.S. President Donald Trump poses with the agreement signed at a summit of world leaders to end the Gaza war amid a U.S.-brokered prisoner-hostage exchange and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)
“What people call a conflict of interest, Steve and I call the experience and trusted relationships we have around the world,” Kushner said. “If Steve and I didn’t have these deep relationships, the deal that freed these hostages wouldn’t have happened. We have trusted relationships in the Arab world and even in Israel, where we’ve both done business in the past. But that means they trust us. We understand their culture. We understand how they work. And we can use that knowledge and skill set to do things that move the world forward.”
Witkoff also confirmed to Stahl that the Israelis and Qataris literally hugged each other after the deal was made.
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Jared Kushner argued that his work experience in the Middle East helped negotiations. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“I thought to myself, ‘I wish the whole world could see this,'” Witkoff said. “I wish people could see the Qataris hugging the Israelis. By the way, it’s happened with the Turks, it’s happened with the Egyptians, which in a way, I don’t know, makes you feel a lot better about what the possibilities are for the world.”
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire agreement on October 8, nearly two years after the war began in 2023.
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Before the episode aired, Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement, causing the agreement to briefly stall before resuming.
