Jared Kushner, serving as an envoy for Donald Trump, conducted a rare, two-hour meeting with Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday. The discussion, which also included representatives from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, marks a renewed effort to break the deadlock surrounding the Gaza ceasefire. Kushner is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov.
The diplomatic urgency stems from Netanyahu’s recent rejection of a 15-point, US-backed road map, a move that represents a significant act of defiance against the Trump administration. The proposed plan outlines a process where Hamas would disarm while Israeli forces gradually withdraw from the territory. However, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not retreat from any positions until the militant group is fully disarmed, a stance that has left critical reconstruction efforts and the deployment of international peacekeeping forces in limbo.
The lives of approximately 2 million people in Gaza remain at stake as the enclave continues to be largely controlled by Israeli forces, more than 10 months after major military operations concluded. According to Gaza’s health ministry, since the ceasefire agreement on October 10, 2025, more than 1,200 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,100 wounded. Currently, Israeli forces maintain control over roughly 60% of Gaza, with Netanyahu having previously stated in May that the government aimed to increase this to 70% to tighten its grip on Hamas.
Following the meeting, Hamas issued a statement urging the Board of Peace and international mediators to compel Israel to adopt the road map. A Hamas official confirmed the group remains committed to the process and is awaiting the start of a 14-day negotiation period to establish an implementation timeline. The official noted that Hamas is demanding a halt to Israeli attacks and a withdrawal to a previously discussed “yellow line” boundary, though the exact coordinates of that line remain undefined.
The road map’s implementation is further complicated by the requirement for a Palestinian technocratic committee to oversee daily operations, a body that has yet to enter the enclave. Hamas has linked the surrender of its heavy weaponry to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, a political outcome that the current Israeli government explicitly rejects.
International pressure is mounting, with a coalition of regional powers—including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia—issuing a joint statement condemning Israel’s obstruction of the peace process. The foreign ministers involved declared that “Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza” and called on the US and the Board of Peace to take “immediate and concrete measures” to ensure the plan moves forward.
In response to the regional criticism, Netanyahu’s Likud party claimed on Sunday that Arab states are attempting to topple the Prime Minister to empower his political rivals, specifically centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot and center-left leader Yair Golan. The party asserted that these rivals would concede to regional demands, stating, “That will not happen.”
Netanyahu faces a precarious political landscape ahead of the October 27 election, as he attempts to maintain his coalition, which includes hardline ministers opposed to concessions in Gaza. The diplomatic timeline is further compressed by the upcoming three-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
The White House has directed inquiries regarding the meetings to the Board of Peace, which did not provide an immediate comment. Similarly, the Tony Blair Institute declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations. As the Monday meeting with Netanyahu approaches, the focus remains on whether Kushner can secure enough commitment from both sides to restart the stalled implementation phase of the ceasefire agreement. The report also notes that fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders in Egypt last year helped clinch the ceasefire, whose progress until now had been stalled over the key issue of Hamas’s disarmament, a meeting between Kushner. The report also notes that both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting. The report also notes that that period requires all parties’ approval of the road map to begin. The report also notes that the yellow line was never precisely defined. The report also notes that in May, Netanyahu said the next step was to move to 70% control, with Israel “tightening the grip” on Hamas “from every direction”. The report also notes that and it’s not clear whether he will take decisive steps on the ceasefire before then, netanyahu faces a challenging election on 27 October as he tries to hold on to power with a coalition that includes ministers taking a harsh line on Gaza. The report also notes that robert Mackey contributed reporting.
