Key Highlights

  • Jared Kushner is set to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after meeting Hamas's leader in Egypt as part of efforts to advance the Trump administration's Gaza peace plan
  • Netanyahu has publicly rejected the 15-point plan, which proposes Hamas disarmament in exchange for a phased Israeli Withdrawal from Gaza
  • The Israeli military currently controls about 60 percent of Gaza, with Netanyahu saying forces will not withdraw until Hamas is disarmed
  • Palestinian health authorities say Israeli strikes since an October ceasefire have killed more than 1,200 people in Gaza, a territory home to 2 million people

Kushner to Meet Netanyahu Following Talks With Hamas Leadership

Jared Kushner, an adviser to the US president and one of the architects of Washington's plan to end the war in Gaza, is set to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a day after meeting Hamas's leader during discussions with mediators in Egypt. The meeting comes just over a week after Netanyahu publicly rejected the US-backed 15-point roadmap for Gaza, which proposes that Hamas disarm in exchange for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territory.

Hamas said in a statement that its leader met with delegations representing the mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza during the Egypt talks. The US designates Hamas as a terrorist organization, though officials have previously met members of the group to secure hostage releases and advance diplomatic efforts to end the war, which was triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel.

Netanyahu's Government Resists Key Elements of the Plan

The 15-point plan, intended to lead to the complete disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, had earlier been hailed by the US president as a major breakthrough. Under the proposal, Israeli forces would withdraw from the territory as disarmament is completed. But the plan drew widespread criticism from members of Netanyahu's far-right governing coalition, and Netanyahu himself said this month that Israel does not accept the document, insisting Israeli forces — which currently control about 60 percent of Gaza — will not withdraw at all until Hamas is disarmed.

Hamas officials, for their part, have said any progress on the roadmap depends on Israel first meeting its existing obligations, including increasing humanitarian aid flows into Gaza and withdrawing to positions held when the truce took effect last year. In a statement over the weekend, Hamas praised the US president's role in securing the earlier ceasefire while calling on mediators to compel Israel to fulfil all of its obligations under that agreement.

Diplomatic Push Remains Deadlocked Since October Ceasefire

Washington has struggled to advance its broader diplomatic push since brokering the October ceasefire, after which the US president announced the formation of a Board of Peace to oversee implementation of a plan calling for Hamas's disarmament, a phased Israeli troop withdrawal, deployment of an international stabilization force, and the creation of a Palestinian technocratic committee to manage day-to-day administration. That process remains largely stalled, with no movement on disarmament, few nations willing to contribute troops to the stabilization force, and the planned technocratic committee currently stuck in Egypt, unable to move into Gaza.

Israel has continued to expand its footprint in Gaza and carry out strikes in the territory, while aid groups report ongoing Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to the enclave, home to roughly 2 million people. Palestinian health authorities say Israeli strikes since the October truce have killed more than 1,200 people in Gaza, much of which has been reduced to rubble by the broader offensive. The disarmament plan also includes provisions analysts say Netanyahu will find difficult to accept, including a commitment to halt military strikes in Hamas-controlled areas and the creation of a pathway toward Palestinian statehood, with Netanyahu's coalition currently trailing opposition parties in polling ahead of elections due in October.