Jared Kushner Meets Hamas Leaders in Egypt Demanding Disarmament

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's envoy, held a historic meeting with Hamas leaders in Egypt on Sunday. The meeting also included Nikolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This was the first such meeting since the ceasefire agreement ended the Gaza conflict in October. According to a source familiar with the details who spoke to Axios, the main goal was to secure Hamas commitments to a roadmap of verifiable concrete steps. These steps include maintaining the ceasefire, transferring all governing authority to the Palestinian technocratic government, preventing any future Hamas role in Gaza, and comprehensive disarmament of Hamas's military capabilities and infrastructure.

During the meeting, Kushner emphasized that further Israeli withdrawals would be contingent on Hamas fully disarming. He also stressed advancing the deployment of an international stabilization force, accelerating humanitarian aid, and rebuilding Gaza while preventing security escalations or equipment theft. Kushner, Mladenov, and Blair are scheduled to visit Israel tomorrow to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of White House efforts to advance the next phase of the 20-point American peace plan.

The visit comes amid significant skepticism from Netanyahu's government regarding the U.S. plan and heightened political sensitivity ahead of Israel's October elections.