Kushner Meets Hamas Leaders in Egypt to Push Trump's Gaza Peace Plan

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy, held a rare face-to-face meeting with Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday in a direct push to advance Trump's Gaza peace plan. The talks marked the first time Kushner sat down with Hamas leadership since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement ended major combat operations in October.

The meeting took place in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El Alamein and included Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya, who took over leadership of the terror group in July. Kushner pressed Hamas to translate its earlier pledge to disarm into concrete, verifiable steps -- a demand that has been the central sticking point between the militant group and Israel.

A Rare, High-Stakes Sitting

Joining Kushner at the table were Nickolay Mladenov, high representative of Trump's Board of Peace, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, also a board member. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali Al Thawadi, and a senior Turkish official rounded out the delegation of mediators who helped broker the original ceasefire.

Diplomatic sources familiar with the talks said Kushner's objective was translating Hamas's obligations to demilitarize Gaza into concrete, verifiable steps. He relayed a blunt message: Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel. The sources said Hamas reiterated its commitment to the deal during the meeting.

Direct engagement between a senior U.S. envoy and Hamas leadership is itself unusual. Washington has long refused official contact with the group Washington designates as a terrorist organization, which makes Sunday's session a significant signal of how far the Trump administration is willing to go to salvage the ceasefire.

Before the Hamas session, Kushner met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, whose office said the two stressed the need for all parties to implement their obligations under the ceasefire agreement.

The Roadmap and the Standoff

Trump's plan, announced July 30 and endorsed by Hamas a day later, lays out a phased approach: Hamas and other armed factions hand over weapons to a new Palestinian technocratic committee, Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza, an international stabilization force deploys, and the enclave is rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.

Israel rejected the roadmap on August 9. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not pull its forces out until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, while Hamas insists Israel must halt its military campaign and withdraw to the so-called yellow line dividing the territory before implementation can begin.

Hamas has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel's current government rejects. The 14-day negotiation period for working out an implementation timetable cannot begin until all parties approve the roadmap.

After the meeting, Hamas called on mediators and the Board of Peace to compel Israel to approve the roadmap and begin establishing a timetable for its implementation. The group also demanded that Israel halt attacks on Gaza and withdraw to the yellow line before moving forward.

What Comes Next

Kushner is scheduled to meet Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday alongside Blair and Mladenov, with the aim of securing corresponding steps from Israel if Hamas begins disarming. The White House has made clear it expects both sides to move toward the next phase of the plan.

At stake is the fate of some 2 million people in Gaza and the reconstruction of the enclave, which remains largely controlled by Israeli forces more than ten months after the ceasefire ended major military operations.

Trump's team has framed the roadmap as a historic opportunity to end the cycle of violence in Gaza while guaranteeing Israel's security. The coming days will show whether this week of high-level shuttle diplomacy can bridge the gap between Hamas's promises and Israel's demands.