Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, met Hamas representatives in Egypt on Sunday to discuss Trump’s plan for Gaza’s future. He is due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel today.
DR reports that a long list of international outlets have described the meeting, held on August 16, 2026. Each obtained confirmation independently from anonymous Palestinian officials. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by both the United States and the European Union.
According to the BBC, Kushner met a Hamas delegation led by the movement’s new leader, Khalil al-Hayya. Al-Hayya was chosen as Hamas’s top leader in July, succeeding Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in October 2024.
Egypt’s presidential office stated that Kushner also met President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday, in El-Alamein. The statement said the talks concerned implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the need for all parties to meet their obligations. AP and several Israeli outlets report that Kushner meets Netanyahu in Israel on Monday.
NPR describes the Cairo talks as a rare meeting aimed at salvaging a stalled 15-point roadmap for Hamas disarmament and an Israeli withdrawal. The outlet notes the plan includes a handover of weapons to a Palestinian technocratic committee. Al Jazeera links the meeting to efforts to implement phased disarmament under the U.S.-backed roadmap.
Trump announced the 15-point agreement on total disarmament of Hamas on behalf of his peace board a few weeks ago. Netanyahu subsequently rejected the plan, according to reporting cited by DR.
Hans Henrik Fafner, foreign editor at the online outlet POV, told DR that the parties remain quite far from real results in negotiations on the next phases. He said Netanyahu is still rigid and says no to the whole package, while opposing only some of the 15 points. As long as those points do not match his wishes, Netanyahu rejects the entire deal, Fafner said.
Fafner pointed to the plan’s provision that Hamas be disarmed gradually. Per his assessment, Netanyahu sees no sense in that and wants total disarmament before Israeli forces move at all.
Election timing
Speaking to DR’s radio program P1 Morgen, Fafner said Netanyahu is clearly playing for time. He called the tactic common in Middle Eastern negotiations, but noted one particular reason in this case. Israelis go to the polls on October 27, where Netanyahu’s reelection as prime minister hangs by a thread.
According to Fafner, Netanyahu cannot campaign on a Gaza arrangement he finds unsatisfactory, because he could not defend it to voters of his party, Likud. Denmark has previously backed the peace plan without offering troops.
