Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, held a rare meeting with Hamas’s political chief on Sunday in Egypt, in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure after rejecting the new ۱۵-point, US-backed road map.
The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war.
At stake are the lives of some ۲ million people in Gaza and reconstruction of the crowded enclave now largely controlled by Israeli forces, more than ۱۰ months since the ceasefire ended major military operations. A meeting between Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders in Egypt last year helped clinch the ceasefire, whose progress until now had been stalled over the key issue of Hamas’s disarmament.
The over two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas’s political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also there.
Hamas in a statement later called on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to “compel” Israel to approve the road map for next steps.
Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, last week rejected the ۱۵-point plan in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israel’s closest ally.
Kushner; Tony Blair, the former British prime minister; and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace director, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.
Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the road map, saying: “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza.” Other signers included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators.
The foreign ministers’ statement called on the Board of Peace and the US to take “immediate and concrete measures” to keep any party from obstructing the plan’s implementation.
Kushner’s meeting with the Hamas leader aimed at ensuring the militant group’s commitment to the road map, particularly disarmament, before his meeting with Netanyahu, the regional official said.
The Hamas official said the group is committed and waiting for mediators to start the ۱۴-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation. That period requires all parties’ approval of the road map to begin.
The Hamas official also said the Hamas leader demanded that Israel halt its attacks on Gaza and withdraw to the so-called “yellow line” dividing the territory before beginning implementation. The yellow line was never precisely defined. Israeli forces have moved beyond it and now control about ۶۰% of Gaza.
In May, Netanyahu said the next step was to move to ۷۰% control, with Israel “tightening the grip” on Hamas “from every direction”.
Israel has killed more than ۱,۲۰۰ Palestinians in Gaza, and wounded more than ۴,۱۰۰ since agreeing to the ceasefire on ۱۰ October ۲۰۲۵, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The White House referred questions about Kushner’s meetings to the Board of Peace, which did not immediately comment. The Tony Blair Institute did not comment.
Under the road map, Hamas would hand over weapons to the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee daily operations in the territory. The committee has not yet entered Gaza. But Hamas has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s current government rejects.
The road map involves Hamas gradually giving up its weapons while Israeli forces halt attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. But Netanyahu says Israel will not retreat from any position in Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed.
That stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire on hold, including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces to separate Israeli forces from committee-controlled areas.
Netanyahu faces a challenging election on ۲۷ October as he tries to hold on to power with a coalition that includes ministers taking a harsh line on Gaza, and it’s not clear whether he will take decisive steps on the ceasefire before then. Also coming up is the three-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on ۷ October.
Netanyahu’s Likud party on Sunday responded to the statement by regional powers by claiming “Arab states want to topple” Netanyahu so that centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot and center-left party leader Yair Golan “will give them everything they want. That will not happen.”
Robert Mackey contributed reporting
