BEIRUT — Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, held a rare meeting with Palestinian militant group Hamas on Sunday in Egypt, in an effort to advance a fragile U.S.-backed peace deal for Gaza that was met with opposition from Israel.
Kushner is expected in Jerusalem on Monday for talks with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who last week rejected the 15-point plan that Trump had touted as a breakthrough toward ending the conflict.
The Associated Press reported that Kushner’s Sunday meeting was with Khalil al-Hayya, the group’s new leader, who took over in July. A Hamas official told The Washington Post that al-Hayya was in Egypt for talks and the delegation met with all mediators, which would include Kushner.
The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private meeting, said that the Hamas delegation’s discussion with Kushner focused on the 15-point plan, which the group has accepted, and their objections to Israel’s opposition.
The plan from the Board of Peace, which was created by Trump, calls for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Israel disagree as to which should come first.
Kushner on Sunday also met with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah El-Sisi. A statement carried by the state broadcaster said the two stressed the need for “all parties to implement their obligations under the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip” referring to a U.S.-brokered peace deal last October to end the conflict. The White House did not immediately respond for a request for comment.
An official with Board of Peace told The Post that Kushner will travel to Israel on Monday, along with the group’s director Nickolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair, to “hear the concerns that have been raised” and find ways to advance the agreement.
“What is critical is that we both agree on the desired outcome and are finding ways to accelerate progress,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic talks. The Board of Peace was set up in the aftermath of the 2025 deal to release the remaining hostages that Hamas seized during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
The plan announced on July 30 gave Hamas and Israel two weeks to agree on a timetable and process for implementing the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Hamas says Israel must end its military campaign in Gaza as a first step, and Israel has called for complete disarmament of Hamas and removal of weapons from Gaza as a prerequisite for withdrawing.
Trump has described the agreement as Hamas disarming in stages, with the Israeli military pulling out of the territory over time and being replaced by an international stabilization force that would work in partnership with a revamped Palestinian police force.
Last week, Netanyahu said that the Israel Defense Forces “will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, and it will continue to thwart threats against our forces and citizens.”
His demands also included that the Palestinian militant group give up all weapons: “Heavy weaponry, lighter weaponry, all weaponry,” he said.
A joint statement on Sunday issued by Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the Israeli move saying it undermines the “collective efforts undertaken to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Soroka reported from Tel Aviv. Sammy Westfall in Washington and Suzan Haidamous in Beirut contributed to this report.
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