October 9, 2025 – Israel-Hamas war

As the Israeli government met late Thursday evening to hammer out the details of a high-stakes ceasefire resolution, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner joined the meeting and discussed the merits of the deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his fellow ministers.

According to an Israeli official briefed on the meeting, Witkoff shared his personal story about his son, who died from an overdose in 2011, and presented the case for forgiveness.

“I had a child who died from an overdose, and I wanted to kill the family of the person who gave him the dose. But when I got to court, I saw his parents, who were so ashamed and asked for forgiveness, and I forgave them,” Witkoff said, according to the Israeli official.

The Israeli official told CNN Witkoff was responding to an exchange with Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right Israeli minister who proclaimed that he would not support the proposed deal due to the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

CNN reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.

The Israeli source described the discussion as beginning with Ben Gvir suggesting that, if the US were in Israel’s position, it would not accept a deal that included the release of prisoners, whom he called “terrorists” and “baby killers, rapists of women.”

“You would never release them in the United States. I appreciate the hard work you do and the help you give Israel, but let’s be real – you would not support such a deal,” Ben Gvir asserted.

When Witkoff made his personal account of forgiveness, Ben Gvir replied: “That’s the difference – those who murdered us on October 7 do not ask for forgiveness. Their families are proud of it. They want to kill Jews.”

Ben Gvir, who leads Israel’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party, has consistently opposed ceasefire and hostage release deals for Gaza. He has previously been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab racism in Israel.