Kushner meets Hamas leader in rare talks to advance Gaza peace plan
Trump envoy Jared Kushner met a Hamas delegation in Egypt to discuss implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan, after Israel rejected the proposal and demanded full Hamas disarmament first.
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Jared Kushner held rare direct talks with Hamas in Egypt on Sunday, meeting a delegation led by the group's new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, a Palestinian official told the BBC. The encounter marks the first meeting of this level since last year's Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The talks come after Israel last week rejected Trump's 15-point plan, which calls for the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the territory's reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian administration. Reports indicate the discussions focused on concrete steps toward decommissioning Hamas's weapons, an Israeli troop withdrawal, and humanitarian efforts. No official statement on the outcome has been released.
Also taking part were Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, alongside representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have mediated the process. While in Egypt, Kushner also met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Israeli media report that Kushner, Mladenov and Blair are expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to push the plan forward.
Netanyahu said last week that Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, a stance that puts him at odds with Washington. On Sunday, eight Muslim-majority countries — Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia — issued a joint statement condemning Israel's rejection of the plan, warning it threatens Trump's peace efforts.
The ceasefire, in effect since 10 October last year, remains in place, though Israeli forces have continued strikes in Gaza, including a recent one targeting what it called "terrorists" in Khan Yunis and Nuseirat, accusing Hamas of violating the truce. The war began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage. Israel's subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable. The UN estimates roughly 1.9 million people, or 90% of Gaza's population, have been displaced since the war began.
