Kushner meets with Hamas in push to revive Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas's new leader in Egypt on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP. The meeting was part of a push to revive a Gaza peace plan that Israel has rejected. It came two weeks after Hamas endorsed the plan's latest stage by agreeing to hand over weapons to a new governing committee.

What did Kushner ask Hamas to do in the Gaza talks?

Kushner pressed Hamas for verifiable disarmament, a key demand of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He called for concrete, verifiable steps and relayed a message that Gaza can never again become a source of terror for Israel, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Who took part in the Kushner-Hamas meeting?

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya took part in the discussions in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein, marking his first trip since taking over leadership of the group in July. Some observers believe Hamas's early backing of the disarmament plan was tactical, calculated on the expectation that Israel would reject it. In the talks with Kushner, Hamas again voiced its commitment to the agreement, a second source said.

A picture released by host Egypt did not include al-Hayya but showed Kushner at a table with other members of Trump's Board of Peace, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. Qatar and Turkey, key mediators alongside Egypt, also joined the talks. Kushner is set to meet Netanyahu on Monday, as the Israeli leader faces a tough re-election fight in October.

Why is direct US contact with Hamas significant?

The United States refused contact with Hamas for years, classifying it as a terrorist organisation responsible for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. The Trump administration has grown more comfortable with direct contact in hopes of ending the conflict, having negotiated the October ceasefire that led to the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

Which countries are pressing Israel over the Gaza plan?

Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, along with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia, condemned Israel's rejection of the plan in a joint statement on Sunday. The nations said Israel bears direct and full responsibility for obstructing peace and warned its refusal threatens to derail Trump's broader efforts. Netanyahu's Likud Party responded by accusing Arab countries of trying to bring down the prime minister ahead of the election.

The inclusion of the UAE carries particular weight, since it normalized relations with Israel five years ago in a relationship Netanyahu considers a key achievement. Netanyahu opposed the US plan even after Board of Peace representative Nickolay Mladenov assured him Israel would not need to withdraw troops until Hamas's complete disarmament. The board had initially said Israel would begin a phased withdrawal alongside Hamas's disarmament process.

Has Israel continued strikes in Gaza during the talks?

Israel has resumed airstrikes in Gaza after a lull that followed Trump's promotion of the peace plan, though the October ceasefire never fully halted violence in the territory. Several people were injured Sunday when Israeli aircraft targeted a house west of Nuseirat, said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run civil defense agency. The Israeli military said it was responding to a threat from Islamic Jihad militants and had tried to limit civilian casualties.

Separately, Israeli forces opened fire on tents housing displaced people west of Khan Yunis, injuring several others. The body of a child, Suhail Shallouf, was recovered there after he was killed by Israeli fire on Saturday, the civil defense agency said. Israeli operations have killed at least 1,262 Palestinians since the ceasefire began on October 10, according to Gaza's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations. The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its own ranks over the same period.