US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner held rare talks with Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday, pressing for the implementation of a US-backed Gaza peace plan that Israel rejected just last week.
The meeting, described by a Palestinian official to the BBC as the first at this level since last year’s ceasefire agreement, brought together a delegation led by al-Hayya with Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law. Diplomatic sources told AFP that Kushner pushed for strong disarmament and an end to any future Hamas role in running Gaza, while Hamas reiterated its commitment to the deal.
Board of Peace envoys Nickolai Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair joined Kushner in the session, according to Axios. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali Al Thawadi, and a senior Turkish official also attended. Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey have mediated in the peace efforts.
Neither Hamas nor the US envoy has publicly confirmed the meeting took place. The United States has for years refused contact with Hamas, which it classifies as a terrorist organisation. The Trump administration has grown increasingly willing to engage directly in hopes of ending the conflict.
Israel rejects the plan
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Trump’s 15-point plan, which calls for Israeli troops to withdraw from Gaza and for the territory to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration. Netanyahu said the plan was unacceptable.
“Israel rejects the Board of Peace’s 15-point document on Gaza. The IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed,” Netanyahu said last week, defying Israel’s closest ally. He has insisted on full Hamas disarmament before implementing any deal.
On Sunday, eight Muslim countries issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection. Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia said Israel’s refusal threatened Trump’s efforts for peace.
Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, to which both Israel and Hamas had agreed. Hamas said it agreed to the plan to avoid a resumption of the war, but added that implementation would depend on Israel first meeting its own commitments, including withdrawing its forces and halting attacks.
Strikes continue despite ceasefire
The ceasefire, which came into effect on 10 October last year, remains in place. However, the Israel Defense Forces have carried out several strikes in Gaza since then. The latest targeted what Israel called terrorists in the Khan Younis and Nuseirat areas of Gaza, accusing Hamas of breaking the truce.
At least five Palestinians were injured on Sunday after an Israeli strike hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis, medics said. A separate air strike hit an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, wounding several people. Israel has resumed its air strikes in recent days despite the October 2025 ceasefire, having scaled back attacks earlier in the month.
More than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect, according to Palestinian official sources. A senior Israeli official said Israel was concerned about Washington’s demand to end targeted assassinations of Hamas fighters in Gaza.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 people have been killed, according to the territory’s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. The UN estimates that about 1.9 million people, 90 percent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced since the war started.
While in Egypt, Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to Israeli media reports, Kushner, Mladenov, and Blair will meet Netanyahu on Monday with the aim of advancing Trump’s plan. The objective of Sunday’s meeting, a source told Axios, was translating Hamas’s disarmament into concrete, verifiable steps. No official statement has been released of the talks, which reportedly focused on decommissioning Hamas’s weapons, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and humanitarian efforts.