For a man with no formal role in the White House, Jared Kushner last week literally took centre-stage as Donald Trump’s emissary to the Middle East.

As the administration took a victory lap for hammering out a Gaza ceasefire last week, Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, stood in Tel Aviv’s ‘hostages square’, addressing a feverish crowd that had booed the mention of Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and later broke into chants of: “Thank You Trump!”

“October 7 for me was a shattering day,” said Kushner, who had shed his customary business suit for a simple black T-shirt. “Since then, my heart has not been complete.” He felt obligated, he said, “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.”

View image in fullscreen Kushner speaks as Israelis gather at ‘hostages square’ in Tel Aviv to celebrate the ceasefire agreement in Gaza on 11 October. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

It was a strong diplomatic sentiment for a man whose boss had threatened to unleash “hell” in Gaza. But the soft-spoken heir to his father’s real estate empire has quietly become a key conduit for Trump’s outreach to the Middle East, leveraging his Rolodex of lead