US envoy Jared Kushner will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after holding talks with Hamas leaders in Egypt aimed at reviving the US-backed peace plan for Gaza, which has so far been rejected by Israel.
The meeting will be held two weeks after Hamas approved the latest phase of Trump’s plan for Gaza, which Netanyahu has refused to support, insisting that any deal must ensure the group’s “true disarmament”. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, met with Hamas’ new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein on Sunday and urged Hamas to take “concrete and verifiable steps,” sending the message that “Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel,” according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions.
Hamas reiterated its commitment to the plan, another source said. The group then said it had asked mediators and Trump’s so-called Peace Council to “force” Israel to “approve the roadmap… and begin establishing a timetable for its implementation.” A photo released by host Egypt did not include al-Hayya, but showed Kushner at a table with members of the Peace Council, including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Qatar and Türkiye, key mediators along with Egypt, also participated. The United States has for years rejected any contact with Hamas, which it classifies as a terrorist organization and which led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. But the Trump administration has been increasingly welcoming of direct contact in hopes of ending the devastating conflict, negotiating the October ceasefire agreement that led to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
