Trump envoy Jared Kushner meets Hamas leader in push to revive Gaza plan

CAIRO - US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas’ new leader in Egypt on Aug 16, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP, in a push to revive a Gaza peace plan rejected by Israel.

Two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump’s Gaza plan by saying it would hand over weapons to a new governing committee, Kushner pressed for verifiable disarmament, a key demand of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner called for “concrete, verifiable steps” and relayed a message that “Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel”, said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya took part in the discussions in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, making his first trip since assuming leadership of the group in July.

Soon after he took the helm, Hamas backed the disarmament roadmap, a move that some observers believe was tactical in the knowledge that Israel would say no.

In the talks with Kushner, Hamas again voiced its commitment to the plan, another source with knowledge of the talks said.

The group said afterwards that it had called on mediators and Trump’s so-called Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to “approve the roadmap... and begin establishing a timetable for its implementation”.

A picture released by host Egypt did not include al-Hayya, but showed Kushner at a table alongside members of the Board of Peace, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. Qatar and Turkey, key mediators alongside Egypt, also joined.

The United States for years refused contact with Hamas, which it classifies as a terrorist organisation and which led the Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

But the Trump administration has increasingly been comfortable with direct contact in hopes of ending the devastating conflict, negotiating the October ceasefire agreement that led to the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

Kushner on Aug 17 will see Netanyahu, a longtime hawk who faces a tough re-election fight in October.

Muslim states press Israel

The three regional mediator countries and five fellow Muslim nations – Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia – on Aug 16 condemned Israel’s rejection of the plan.

In a joint statement, they said “Israel bears direct and full responsibility” for obstructing peace, adding its refusal “directly threatens to derail extensive efforts” by Trump.

In response, Netanyahu’s Likud Party charged that “the Arab countries want to bring down the prime minister” in the election.

The inclusion of the United Arab Emirates is significant as it normalised relations with Israel five years ago, kickstarting an economic and strategic relationship that Netanyahu considers a key achievement.

Netanyahu expressed opposition to the US plan even after he was assured by Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, that Israel would not need to pull troops out of the war-battered territory until complete disarmament by Hamas.

The board had initially said Israel would start a phased withdrawal in tandem with Hamas’ disarmament.

Israel keeps up strikes

Israel has resumed airstrikes in Gaza after a lull following Trump’s promotion of the peace plan, though the October ceasefire had never fully halted the violence in the Strip.

Several people were injured on Aug 16 after Israeli aircraft targeted a house west of Nuseirat, said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency, which serves as a rescue service under Hamas.

The Israeli military said it was responding to a threat by Islamic Jihad militants and that it had tried to mitigate civilian casualties.

“The terrorists advanced terror attacks and were struck in precise aerial strikes to remove the threat,” it said.

Several others were wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on tents housing displaced people west of Khan Younis, where separately the body of a child, Suhail Shallouf, was recovered after he was killed by Israeli fire on Aug 15, the civil defence agency said.

Israeli operations have killed at least 1,262 Palestinians since the ceasefire came into effect on Oct 10, according to figures by Gaza’s health ministry, which is under Hamas. Its figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during the same period. AFP