Egyptian Officials Say Hamas Will Only Disarm With New Israeli Government

Senior Egyptian officials told American counterparts that the only way to compel Hamas to disarm is with the next Israeli government, expressing dissatisfaction with the current administration. These remarks were made during Jared Kushner's visit to Egypt, where he met with Egyptian leaders to discuss ending the Gaza conflict. The Egyptians conveyed no hope for progress under the current Israeli government, warning that Hamas would only grow stronger.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Kushner for four hours to try to finalize a framework to end the Gaza war. The meeting began privately and later included UN envoy Nikolay Mladenov, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and other representatives. The day before, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and other regional countries jointly condemned Israel's rejection of Trump's Gaza plan, blaming Israel for delaying peace efforts and warning that rejecting the plan could undermine Trump's efforts to end the Gaza conflict.

Following Kushner's meetings in Egypt, sources told Saudi Al-Arabiya that Kushner and Mladenov rejected Hamas's proposal to store weapons in Gaza, insisting that Hamas must disarm and dismantle its infrastructure. Kushner reportedly assured Hamas leaders that their weapons would be removed from Gaza entirely, contradicting earlier reports suggesting weapons might be stored within Gaza under certain conditions. Israel has demanded that Hamas's weapons be completely removed from Gaza to prevent access by Hamas or other terrorist groups.