Jared Kushner, the Middle East envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, met with a Hamas delegation in Egypt on Sunday to discuss a 15-point Gaza peace plan. A Palestinian official told the BBC that the meeting included Hamas's new leader, Khalil al-Hayya, and representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey.
The talks follow the recent rejection of the U.S.-backed plan by Israel. Last month, President Trump’s Board of Peace—an international organization established to address global conflicts—announced an agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas and other armed groups. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last week that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, opposing the plan's current sequence.
Participants in Sunday's meeting reportedly included Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The discussions focused on decommissioned weapons, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and humanitarian efforts. Kushner also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, with additional meetings between the envoys and Netanyahu scheduled for Monday.
For Israel, the primary impact involves the security requirements for the IDF and the demand for the total disarmament of Hamas. The Israeli government has maintained that a military withdrawal is contingent upon the verified removal of Hamas's weapons, a move that would alter the day-to-day security posture for both Israeli soldiers and civilians near the border. The scale of the proposed reconstruction and disarmament involves billions of dollars in international humanitarian efforts and the permanent decommissioning of all armed groups within the Gaza Strip.
The diplomatic push by the Board of Peace marks a rare direct engagement between U.S.-led envoys and Hamas leadership. A failure to reach a consensus between the 15-point plan and Netanyahu's disarmament demands could stall reconstruction efforts and humanitarian aid delivery. Eight nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, issued a joint statement Sunday warning that Israel’s current rejection of the plan threatens peace efforts. The next step in this process is the scheduled meeting on Monday between Kushner, Mladenov, Blair, and Netanyahu to discuss the advancement of the proposal.