United States envoys led by presidential envoy Jared Kushner met with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators and Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday to advance President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Gaza Strip.
The high-level diplomatic push comes as Israel continues air strikes across the Palestinian enclave while rejecting the proposed roadmap, demanding the complete disarmament of Hamas before halting operations.
Kushner, who serves as Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, held discussions in the Mediterranean coastal city of El Alamein with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. An Egyptian presidential spokesman announced that the talks focused on enforcing a ceasefire in Gaza. Egypt has long served as a key regional mediator between Israel and Palestinian factions.
Separate negotiations took place in El Alamein between a Hamas delegation and Hassan Rashad, head of Egyptian General Intelligence. Egyptian state news agency Mena reported that the meeting centered on practical steps to move the American proposal forward.
Later in the afternoon, Hamas leadership met directly with Kushner, according to sources speaking to news agency Agence France-Presse. During the meeting, Hamas representatives reaffirmed their commitment to the peace framework. Kushner insisted that the movement must fully disarm and accept that it will have no future role in the governance of the Gaza Strip.
Nickolay Mladenov, a former Bulgarian foreign minister and United Nations envoy who now serves as high representative for Trump's Peace Council, attended the meetings in Egypt alongside Kushner.
Diplomatic Pressure and Plan Terms
Late Sunday, Hamas issued a statement calling on international mediators and the Peace Council to take responsibility and compel Israel to approve the roadmap. The group urged the body to establish a firm timetable for implementing the second phase of Trump's plan.
Hamas formally accepted the 15-point American roadmap at the end of July. The framework outlines an immediate end to military operations, the total disarmament of Hamas, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the reconstruction of the enclave under a new civilian Palestinian administration.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly rejected the framework in its current form. Netanyahu stated that Israel requires a real disarmament of Hamas before any final agreement can be reached.
Kushner and Mladenov are scheduled to travel to Israel on Monday to hold talks with Netanyahu, a senior Israeli official said. Washington is attempting to bridge deep divisions between Israeli leadership and Hamas to secure a lasting conclusion to the conflict.
The Israeli official stated that Israel remains concerned about American demands to end targeted assassinations of Hamas fighters in Gaza. Israeli officials maintain that halting targeted strikes allows the Palestinian group to reorganize its military forces.
Renewed Military Strikes and Regional Reaction
After scaling back military actions in early August, Israeli forces resumed air strikes in recent days. The Israeli military announced on Sunday that aircraft targeted two fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Gaza healthcare workers reported that at least five Palestinians were wounded when a strike hit a residential camp.
As discussions proceeded in Egypt, foreign ministers from eight Muslim nations issued a joint statement condemning Israel's refusal to proceed with the peace roadmap. The statement, published by the Saudi Press Agency, was signed by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The diplomatic coalition condemned Israel's refusal to follow the roadmap for Trump's comprehensive peace plan and its opposition to establishing an independent Palestinian state. The ministers stated that Israel's position strongly undermines collective international efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.
