Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and envoy, met with Hamas's political chief in Egypt on Sunday in a rare meeting aimed at making progress on the stalled Gaza ceasefire. The meeting took place ahead of Monday's talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under pressure after rejecting a new 15-point US-backed road map.
Diplomatic push to salvage ceasefire plan
The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory. At stake are the lives of about 2 million people in Gaza and the reconstruction of the enclave, now largely controlled by Israeli forces more than 10 months after the ceasefire ended major military operations.
The meeting with Hamas's political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, lasted over two hours and was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity. Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey also present.
Hamas calls for pressure on Israel
Hamas later issued a statement calling on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to "compel" Israel to approve the road map for next steps. Netanyahu rejected the 15-point plan last week in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration.
Kushner, along with Tony Blair, former British prime minister, and Nickolay Mladenov, Board of Peace director, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to sources familiar with the plans.
Regional powers condemn Israel's rejection
Several regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement condemning Israel's rejection of the road map, saying: "Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza." Other signers included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the ceasefire mediators.
The foreign ministers' statement called on the Board of Peace and the US to take "immediate and concrete measures" to keep any party from obstructing the plan's implementation.
Kushner's meeting with the Hamas leader aimed at ensuring the militant group's commitment to the road map, particularly disarmament, before his meeting with Netanyahu, the regional official said. The Hamas official said the group is committed and waiting for mediators to start the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation.
The Hamas official also said the leader demanded that Israel halt attacks on Gaza and withdraw to the so-called "yellow line" dividing the territory before beginning implementation. The yellow line was never precisely defined; Israeli forces have moved beyond it and now control about 60% of Gaza.
Israel has killed more than 1,200 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded more than 4,100 since agreeing to the ceasefire on 10 October 2025, according to Gaza's health ministry.
The White House referred questions about Kushner's meetings to the Board of Peace, which did not immediately comment. The Tony Blair Institute did not comment.
Under the road map, Hamas would hand over weapons to a Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee daily operations. The committee has not yet entered Gaza. Hamas has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel's current government rejects.
The road map involves Hamas gradually giving up weapons while Israeli forces halt attacks and begin withdrawing. But Netanyahu says Israel will not retreat from any position until Hamas is completely disarmed. That stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire on hold, including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces.
Netanyahu faces a challenging election on 27 October, and it is not clear whether he will take decisive steps on the ceasefire before then. Also coming up is the three-year anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October. Netanyahu's Likud party responded to the regional statement by claiming "Arab states want to topple" Netanyahu so that centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot and center-left party leader Yair Golan "will give them everything they want. That will not happen."
