Trump envoy Kushner meets Hamas leader to push Gaza peace plan

What the report says

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner has held unusual direct talks with Hamas officials over the future of Gaza, according to the BBC, in a meeting in Egypt on Sunday. A Palestinian official said Kushner met a delegation led by Hamas figure Khalil al-Hayya to discuss how the US-backed Gaza peace plan could be carried out. The report says the discussions were also linked to issues such as Hamas disarmament, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and humanitarian access.

The meeting came after Israel rejected Trump’s 15-point proposal for Gaza last week. That plan calls for Hamas and other armed groups to disarm, Israeli troops to pull back and Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration. BBC reporting says no official statement was issued from the talks. It also said other figures linked to Trump’s Board of Peace, including Nickolai Mladenov and former UK prime minister Tony Blair, were reportedly involved, alongside mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the visit, and Israeli media reported that Kushner, Mladenov and Blair may meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance the proposal. Netanyahu has said Israel will not withdraw until Hamas is genuinely disarmed. The broader context remains the ongoing Gaza war, which began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023 and has left Gaza devastated, with a ceasefire still technically in place despite periodic strikes, according to the BBC and UN estimates.