US negotiator Jared Kushner held a rare, direct meeting with Hamas’s political leadership in Egypt on Sunday, in a fresh diplomatic push to rescue a stalled ceasefire road map before he travels to Israel on Monday to press Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on reciprocal steps.
Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, met the Hamas chief in an effort to make progress on the stalled Gaza ceasefire, ahead of talks scheduled for Monday with Israel’s prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the latest 15-point, US-backed road map. The negotiations aim to salvage a plan under which Hamas would disarm, and Israel would withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war.
Israel-Hamas-Gaza War Latest News: What Was Discussed In The Cairo Meeting?
Hamas leaders reaffirmed their commitment to disarm and demilitarise Gaza during the meeting with Kushner, according to a source with direct knowledge of the talks. Kushner used the rare direct session to press Hamas for tangible steps on disarmament, warning that Israel does not trust the group to follow through on its commitments. The source described the encounter, which ran for roughly ninety minutes, as “very productive” in efforts to ensure Hamas takes practical steps to fulfil its obligations under the plan.
The more than two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas’s Khalil al-Hayya was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters. Kushner was one of three US envoys present, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also attending.
Israel-Hamas-Gaza War Latest News: Who Else Was In The Room?
Also joining Kushner were Board of Peace high representative Nickolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, who serves as a member of the board, alongside Board of Peace senior advisers Aryeh Lightstone and Liran Tancman. Representing Hamas was political leader Khalil al-Hayya, joined by Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official.
According to the source briefed on the talks, Kushner also thanked Hamas leaders for their cooperation and efforts to recover the bodies of all deceased Israeli hostages, while Hamas leaders in turn thanked the Trump administration and the Board of Peace for their work to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Israel-Hamas-Gaza War Latest News: Why Does This Meeting Matter Now?
The stakes of the stalled negotiations are considerable. At stake are the lives of some two million people in Gaza and the reconstruction of the crowded enclave, now largely controlled by Israeli forces more than ten months since the ceasefire ended major military operations. Sunday’s session marked a significant moment in the diplomatic effort, as it was Kushner’s first meeting with Hamas leaders since the Gaza agreement was reached last October.
A previous meeting between Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders in Egypt last year had helped clinch the original ceasefire, whose implementation has since stalled over the key issue of Hamas’s disarmament.
Israel-Hamas-Gaza War Latest News: What Happens Next With Netanyahu?
Kushner is expected to travel to Israel on Monday to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss what a source described as “corresponding steps” Israel must take under the plan. A regional official said Kushner’s meeting with the Hamas leader was aimed at securing the militant group’s commitment to the road map, particularly on disarmament, ahead of the Netanyahu meeting.
The White House and President Trump’s Board of Peace have been pushing both Hamas and Israel to move forward to the next phase of the broader twenty-point US peace plan for the territory. Neither the Israeli prime minister’s office nor Hamas’s official spokesperson had issued a public statement on the Cairo meeting by Sunday evening, with confirmation of the talks coming only through officials speaking anonymously to news agencies.
