Trump Envoy Kushner Meets Hamas Leader Over Gaza Plan

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas officials in Egypt to discuss the next steps in the US-backed plan for peace in Gaza, according to a Palestinian source.

A Palestinian official told the BBC that Kushner met a delegation led by Hamas’s new leader Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday in Egypt.

Talks in Egypt

Trump’s son-in-law travelled to Egypt as part of efforts to advance the proposal backed by the US administration. The discussions were held with a Hamas delegation led by al-Hayya, and included envoys from Trump’s Board of Peace.

Reports said the meeting also involved Nickolai Mladenov and former UK prime minister Tony Blair, alongside representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have played roles in mediation around the conflict.

No official statement has been issued describing the talks. Media reports said the focus included practical steps to decommission Hamas weapons. They also referred to issues including the withdrawal of Israeli forces and humanitarian measures.

Kushner’s meeting with Hayya was described as the first of this level since a ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip was reached last year.

Disarmament And Wider Plan Disputed

Trump’s Board of Peace said last month it had agreed with what it described as the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

Israel has not accepted the plan. Last week, it rejected a 15-point proposal that also calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and for Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.

Eight Muslim countries issued a statement on Sunday condemning Israel’s rejection.

Trump chairs the Board of Peace, an international organisation that was originally intended to help bring peace to Gaza before being broadened to cover other conflicts worldwide.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel would not withdraw troops until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, adding that it rejected the Board of Peace’s 15-point document. He spoke despite the US administration’s backing of the plan.

Netanyahu Meeting Planned

While in Egypt, Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to Israeli media reports. Those reports also said Kushner, Mladenov and Blair would meet Netanyahu on Monday to try to advance the proposal.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia said Israel’s rejection of the US plan could undermine Trump’s efforts to secure peace.

The ceasefire that came into effect on 10 October last year remains in place. However, Israel’s military has carried out strikes in Gaza since then, including attacks in the Khan Yunis and Nuseirat areas. Israel said the strikes targeted “terrorists” and accused Hamas of breaking the truce.

War Background

The war began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response.

More than 73,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN considers the ministry’s figures reliable.

The UN estimates that about 1.9 million people, or 90% of Gaza’s population, have been displaced since the conflict started.

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17 August 2026