US envoy Jared Kushner is seeking to revive the stalled second phase of a Gaza peace plan as Israel maintains its demand for the complete and verifiable disarmament of Hamas.
Kushner, a key adviser to US President Donald Trump, met Hamas representatives in Egypt on Sunday before travelling to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials on Monday.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Kushner pressed Hamas to take “concrete and verifiable” steps towards giving up its weapons, while making clear that the group would have no future role in governing Gaza.
Hamas approved the latest US-backed roadmap in late July but has urged mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace to pressure Israel to accept the agreement and establish a timetable for implementation.
Netanyahu has rejected the proposed second phase, insisting that any agreement must guarantee that Hamas is “truly disarmed”.
Under the plan, Hamas would surrender its weapons while Israeli forces would withdraw from parts of Gaza. Israeli troops currently remain deployed across more than 60 percent of the territory, according to sources cited in reports on the negotiations.
Netanyahu is also expected to meet Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s senior representative for Gaza, alongside Kushner.
Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, which have played central roles in mediating the conflict, joined Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Indonesia in criticising Israel’s rejection of the latest roadmap.
In a joint statement, the eight countries warned that Israel’s position could undermine efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Gaza.
Hamas, meanwhile, said it had asked the mediators and Trump’s Board of Peace to push Israel to approve the roadmap.
Violence Persists Despite Ceasefire
The diplomatic efforts come amid continued violence in Gaza despite a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025.
Palestinian officials said several people were wounded in Israeli strikes and shootings in central and southern Gaza on Sunday. Israel said its forces were responding to threats from militants linked to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 1,262 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began, with the United Nations considering the ministry’s figures broadly reliable. Israel says five soldiers and a Defence Ministry contractor have also been killed during the same period.
The latest diplomatic push faces a major stumbling block, with Hamas saying it supports the roadmap while Netanyahu insists that further progress depends on the group’s complete and verifiable disarmament.
