Trump envoy Kushner meets Netanyahu after Hamas talks

Kushner Meets Netanyahu After Talks with Hamas on Gaza Implementation

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, according to the prime minister’s spokesperson. Kushner arrived in Israel the previous evening after meeting a Hamas delegation in Egypt on Sunday to discuss steps under the US-backed Gaza plan.

The plan, released last month by the Board of Peace, an international body chaired by Trump, outlines 15 points including Israeli troop withdrawal, reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian administration, and the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups. Israel rejected the document last week. Netanyahu stated that the Israel Defense Forces would not withdraw until Hamas is disarmed and that weapons handed over must be destroyed rather than stored by any Palestinian committee. He also expressed reservations about the involvement of Turkey and Qatar in verification.

Eight Muslim-majority countries—Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia—issued a joint statement on Sunday describing Israel’s position as a threat to the plan. The UAE had normalized relations with Israel in 2020.

On Sunday, Kushner met Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya and other delegation members in Egypt. Hamas issued a statement calling on mediators and the Board of Peace to compel Israeli approval of the next steps. High representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair also attended, along with representatives of Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. No official readout was released. A source familiar with the discussions told CBS News that topics included transfer of governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, exclusion of Hamas from future governance, Israeli withdrawals and deployment of an international stabilizing force.

Mladenov and Blair were also scheduled to meet Netanyahu on Monday. Netanyahu has said full disarmament must precede any withdrawal. Israeli officials have cited concerns that stored weapons could be reclaimed and that verification mechanisms involving Turkey and Qatar would be insufficient. These positions come ahead of Israel’s October general election, in which Netanyahu’s coalition includes ministers who favor continued military operations.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has publicly opposed the draft plan and stated in a 15 August podcast interview that he disagrees with the prime minister on reducing operations. Israeli media reported that airstrikes paused briefly after the rejection but resumed, with the military stating it targeted Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Local medics reported injuries in a tent camp in Khan Younis. Both Israel and Hamas have accused the other of ceasefire violations.

The ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, one year after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. The Israel Defense Forces have conducted near-daily strikes since the ceasefire began. The Hamas-run health ministry reports more than 1,200 people killed in that period; the UN regards the ministry’s overall figures as reliable, though independent surveys such as those published in The Lancet estimate approximately 75,000 violent deaths since the war began as a lower bound. UNICEF has reported at least 300 children killed since the ceasefire.

The war followed the October 2023 attack. The Hamas-run health ministry states that more than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 21,280 children; the UN estimates 1.9 million people, or 90 percent of the population, have been displaced. Israel maintains that its operations target militants and that Hamas diverts aid and embeds among civilians.

Kushner’s meeting with al-Hayya is the first reported at this level since the ceasefire agreement. The Board of Peace was initially formed to oversee Gaza arrangements and later expanded to other conflicts.