Kushner Revives Gaza Peace Talks Amid Israel-Hamas Deadlock

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Jared Kushner, has held rare discussions with Hamas representatives in Egypt about implementing the US-backed Gaza peace plan. A Palestinian official told the BBC that Kushner met a delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s new overall leader, on Sunday. The meeting reportedly also included Board of Peace envoys Nickolay Mladenov and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as representatives from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have mediated previous peace efforts. The talks reportedly focused on practical steps for disarming Hamas and other armed groups, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, and delivering humanitarian assistance. The Board of Peace has said it reached agreement on the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, but Israel has rejected the plan’s 15-point document. The proposal calls for Israeli troop withdrawals and the reconstruction of Gaza under a new civilian Palestinian administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Hamas must be fully disarmed before any withdrawal takes place. Eight Muslim-majority countries—including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia—criticized Israel’s rejection, warning that it threatened Trump’s peace initiative. Kushner also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and was expected to meet Netanyahu alongside Mladenov and Blair. The ceasefire that began on 10 October last year remains in place, although Israel has carried out several strikes in Gaza and accused Hamas of violating the truce. The conflict began with Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken. Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 73,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and displaced an estimated 1.9 million people—about 90% of the population.

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East negotiator, met with Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday to discuss implementing a U.S.-backed Gaza peace plan. The meeting, confirmed by sources speaking anonymously to CBS News and the Associated Press, focused on converting the broad agreement into concrete and verifiable steps. These include preserving the ceasefire, transferring governing authority to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, preventing Hamas from holding a future governing role, facilitating Israeli military withdrawals, and deploying an international stabilizing force. Kushner also met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and is expected to travel to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The discussions come amid disagreement over the plan’s requirements and sequencing. The proposal calls for Hamas to relinquish its weapons, military infrastructure, and governing authority, while Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of Gaza as disarmament is completed. Security would eventually be handled by an International Stabilization Force and a new Palestinian police force. Netanyahu has rejected the plan and said Israel will not withdraw militarily until Hamas is genuinely disarmed. His position has drawn criticism from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and ceasefire mediators, who said Israel bears responsibility for obstructing peace efforts and urged the United States and its Board of Peace to take immediate action against any party blocking implementation. The article places the negotiations in the context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. Although a ceasefire began in October 2025, Israeli strikes have continued in Gaza, and the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed since the agreement took effect.

Eight Arab and Islamic countries—the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt—have condemned Israel for rejecting renewed efforts to implement US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. In a joint statement, the countries said Israel’s rejection of the plan and Palestinian statehood made it responsible for obstructing peace in Gaza and the wider Occupied Palestinian Territory. The statement came as Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas leaders in Egypt, alongside Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators. The meeting was part of a renewed diplomatic effort involving Gaza’s Board of Peace, its high representative Nickolay Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi also met Kushner and stressed that all parties must fulfil their obligations under the plan. Hamas has reportedly accepted the plan’s 15-point framework for disarmament and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It has agreed in principle to transfer its weapons, military installations and bases to a committee made up of Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators, who would then hand them to an independent Palestinian committee of technocrats. Hamas insists, however, that weapons and facilities remain under Palestinian control and that its military commanders retain pistols for self-defence. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the framework, saying Israel will not withdraw from its current positions in Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed. The article notes that Israel currently controls about 70 per cent of the enclave, exceeding the area permitted under the ceasefire agreement. The first phase of the ceasefire began last October with a hostage and prisoner exchange, but the article says Israel has not fully met commitments to permit humanitarian aid, begin reconstruction or allow the Palestinian technocratic committee into Gaza. A UN-approved International Stabilisation Force has also not been fully deployed. The developments underline the continuing stalemate over disarmament, Israeli withdrawal, Gaza’s governance and the implementation of the peace plan.

The Straits Times’ Aug 17, 2026, roundup highlights five international, political, social and sports developments. In the most significant diplomatic story, Jared Kushner met Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt in an effort to revive US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan. Kushner reportedly pressed Hamas to take concrete and verifiable steps toward disarmament, while reiterating that Gaza must not again become a source of terror for Israel. The plan had previously been rejected by Israel, despite Hamas endorsing a later stage involving the transfer of weapons to a new governing committee. Bangladesh said it wanted a more favourable diplomatic environment before agreeing to a high-level visit to India by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Dhaka is seeking the extradition of ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina and other fugitives from India, following a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations after Hasina fled there during the 2024 uprising against her government. In Britain, more than 31,000 people, including MPs, signed a petition calling for a public inquiry into alleged media harassment of the late Cambridge academic Jason Arday. Arday, a prominent Black professor, died after resigning amid university investigations into alleged plagiarism and claims that aspects of his life story had been fabricated or exaggerated. The sports items report Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield and Cristiano Ronaldo’s suggestion that the coming year may be the final season of his playing career. Arsenal used the win to signal their ambition ahead of their Premier League title defence, while Ronaldo, 41, remains one of football’s most decorated players despite never winning the World Cup.