Hamas expects meeting with Kushner as US pushes Gaza plan

CAIRO: Hamas officials anticipate a meeting with US envoy Jared Kushner in Egypt, as President Donald Trump's administration attempts to advance a Gaza peace plan that Israel has dismissed. Two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest phase of the deal, Kushner journeyed to Egypt ahead of anticipated talks on Monday in Jerusalem. "Mediators informed Hamas that US envoy Jared Kushner will hold a meeting with the Hamas leadership, in the presence of Egyptian and Qatari officials, before Kushner travels to Israel to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," a Hamas source disclosed to AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.

Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya arrived in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein on Saturday, marking his first trip since assuming leadership of the Gaza-based Islamist movement last month. A second Hamas source revealed that the United States had sought clarifications from Hamas regarding several points, including "genuine, rather than merely symbolic, collection, consolidation, and storage of weapons, as well as Hamas’s complete relinquishment of governance of Gaza".

In July 30, Hamas pledged to hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian governing body as part of the most recent stage of the Gaza ceasefire declared by Trump, who hailed their agreement as a "major milestone". However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent, claimed that Israel rejected the agreement and expressed doubt that Hamas would relinquish its weapons.

Netanyahu remained skeptical even after receiving assurances from Nickolay Mladenov, the Gaza high representative in Trump's "Board of Peace" established to implement the deal, that Israel would not need to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip until complete disarmament by Hamas. The board had initially stated that Israel would commence a phased withdrawal in tandem with Hamas's disarmament.

The US administration has become more amenable to direct contact in pursuit of ending the devastating conflict, negotiating the October ceasefire accord that led to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. Confirmation of a meeting between Kushner and Hamas was not immediately available from the United States. A Board of Peace official earlier indicated that Kushner and Mladenov hoped for "constructive conversations" with Netanyahu, adding that "the United States and Israel agree on the end state, which is a demilitarized Hamas".

Israel continues its airstrikes in Gaza following a lull following Trump's promotion of the peace plan, although the October ceasefire had not fully halted the violence in the Strip. Several individuals were injured on Sunday after Israeli aircraft struck a house west of Nuseirat, according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's civil defense agency, which serves as a rescue service under Hamas.

The Israeli military stated it was responding to a threat from Islamic Jihad and aimed to minimize civilian casualties. "The terrorists advanced terror attacks and were struck in precise aerial strikes to remove the threat," it claimed. Additional injuries were reported following Israeli forces' opening fire on tents housing displaced people west of Khan Yunis, where the body of a child, Suhail Shallouf, was recovered after he was killed by Israeli fire on Saturday.

According to Gaza's health ministry figures, which are considered reliable by the United Nations, Israeli operations have claimed at least 1,262 Palestinian lives since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10. The Israeli army has reported five fatalities among its own forces during the same timeframe.