Jared Kushner at Hostages Square: ‘Instead of replicating the barbarism of the enemy, you chose to be exceptional’

Following Steve Witkoff to address the crowds in Hostages Square, President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner says Witkoff approached “this impossible task with a full heart and with a full commitment. When things got tough and we ran into brick walls, every time that happened, we just said, Let’s make a new plan. Let’s try again.”

Kushner praises the president’s unmatched commitment “to seeing peace, to seeing the hostages return home, to seeing Israel secure and safe, and to seeing the entire Middle East stable and thriving.”

“October 7 for me was a shattering day,” Kushner recalls. “Seeing these horrific barbaric acts shocked me to my core… Since then, my heart has not been complete,” he says, and he felt obligated “to see the hostages come home, to see their families get the closure they deserve, and to end this nightmare. Also, to see the suffering end for the people in Gaza who, for most of them, were experiencing this through no fault of their own, other than being born into a situation that was horrific.”

“We’re not going to celebrate tonight. We’re going to celebrate on Monday,” he says to applause. “I couldn’t be more proud to see the way that the State of Israel and its people have carried themselves through this traumatic, unthinkable, horrific experience. Instead of replicating the barbarism of the enemy, you chose to be exceptional. You chose to stand for the values that you stand for.”

“I couldn’t be prouder to be a friend of Israel, somebody who supports Israel, and somebody who fights very strongly to see Israel survive, succeed, and to achieve its fullest potential,” he says.

Kushner says he has “complete confidence… that what will rise from this trauma will be a level of greatness, a level of achievement, a level of impact on the world, a level of leadership that Israel has never seen.”

“As we close this chapter,” he urges, “let’s learn from the challenges and the pain of the last few years, and let’s do our best to make Israel, to make the region, to make the world as peaceful, to build bridges of understanding, to eliminate hatred in ourselves, hatred for others, and to really lead with love and understanding.”

Finally, he says to cheers, “I just want to thank the amazing soldiers of the IDF. Without their heroism and brilliance and bravery, this deal would not have been possible.”