Jared Kushner, son-in-law and envoy to President Donald Trump, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss a peace plan for the Gaza Strip. The four-hour meeting followed reports that Kushner had previously met with Khalil al-Hayya, a leader of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas, in Cairo to negotiate the 15-point roadmap.
The discussions come as the Trump administration attempts to implement a plan for Gaza following a ceasefire that began in November 2025. Last week, Netanyahu rejected a proposal for Israel to withdraw from Gaza, stating that a withdrawal would not occur until Hamas relinquished its weapons. Hamas had initially accepted the plan but requested that Israeli military operations halt simultaneously with the disarmament process.
During the meeting, Netanyahu and the Board of Peace—a U.S. entity established to manage the plan—agreed to form two working groups. One group will address the disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza, while the second will focus on public health issues, including sanitation and clean water. Netanyahu’s office stated that the disarmament work must be completed before any reconstruction begins in the territory.
For the residents of Gaza, the success or failure of these working groups will determine when they see changes to basic living conditions, such as access to clean water and medical care. Currently, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is housing approximately 65,000 displaced people, but the source reports that almost the entire population lacks basic shelter. The establishment of the public health working group suggests a framework for aid, but the Israeli government's requirement that disarmament occur before reconstruction could delay the rebuilding of permanent housing and infrastructure for hundreds of thousands of households.
The negotiations also face internal political pressures in Israel, where elections are scheduled for late October. Observers, including journalist Tal Schneider, noted a strong sentiment within Israeli society against making concessions following the October 7, 2023, attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage. While the next steps involve the immediate formation of working groups, a final resolution remains contingent on Hamas transferring governing authority to a Palestinian technocratic government and the completion of the disarmament process, for which no specific deadline has been reported.