Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner discussed brokering a fragile deal between Israel and Hamas and rejected allegations that Israeli forces had committed genocide in Gaza during an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday.
The big picture: The wide-ranging interview with President Trump's envoys that comes amid fresh clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas militants also addressed potential conflicts of interest of Kushner and Witkoff amid concerns about their business dealings with Gulf states and Qatar's central role in the Gaza ceasefire deal.
What they're saying:
On visiting Gaza once the ceasefire came into effect, Kushner said the area he visited "looked almost like a nuclear bomb had been set off."
- Kushner told CBS' Lesley Stahl that he asked an Israeli soldier where the Palestinians he saw were going.
- "I'm looking around. These are all ruins. And they said, 'Well, they're going back to the areas where their destroyed home was, onto their plot, and they're gonna pitch a tent.' And it's very sad, because you think to yourself, they really have nowhere else to go," he said.
Yes, but: Both Kushner and Witkoff both firmly rejected allegations that the Israeli military has committed genocide in Gaza.
- "Absolutely not," Witkoff said. "No, no, there was a war being fought."
On conflicts of interest claims, Stahl noted lines appeared to be blurred on their business dealings with Gulf states and what they're doing "in terms of foreign policy and benefiting financially" from the Middle East.
- When Kushner said no one had pointed out any instances where he or Witkoff had "pursued any policies or done anything that have not been in the interest" of the U.S., Stahl asked about the perception it raised.
- "We can't spend our time focused on perception as much as we have to focus on the facts," Kushner said. "We're here to do good. These are impossible tasks.
- And because this is important, I've volunteered my time to help the president and Steve to try to make progress. But Steve nor I will be involved in awarding contracts or figuring out who does business in Gaza after."
Zoom in: When Witkoff said he's "not in business anymore," Stahl noted that his family is.
- "But I've divested. Like Jared, I receive no salary, and I pay all my own expenses," Witkoff said.
- After Stahl pressed that the matter had become an issue, Kushner said: "What people call conflicts of interests, Steve and I call experience and trusted relationships that we have throughout the world.
- "If Steve and I didn't have these deep relationships, the deal that we were able to help get done, that freed these hostages, would not have occurred."
On the hostages' release and the ceasefire deal, Kushner said: "We wanted the hostages to come out. We wanted a real ceasefire that both sides would respect.
"We needed a way to bring humanitarian aid into people, and then we had to write all these complex words to deal with the 50 years of stupid word games that everyone in that region is used to playing. Both sides wanted the objective, and we just needed to find a way to help everyone get there."
Witkoff said he felt "elated" when the hostages were released.
More from Axios:
- U.S. scrambles to save Gaza peace deal amid new clashes
- Vance plans Israel visit Tuesday to push Gaza deal implementation
- Scoop: Tony Blair and Jared Kushner brief Trump on Gaza post-war plans
- Scoop: Direct meeting between Trump envoys and Hamas leaders sealed Gaza deal
Editor's note: This story has been updated with further details from the interview.
