US and Hamas hold rare direct talks

US envoy Jared Kushner held rare direct talks with Hamas' leader in Egypt on Sunday, with the aim of pushing for the group's disarmament, as Washington attempts to salvage the stalled plan to end the ongoing conflict in the region. Kushner is also expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, despite Netanyahu's rejection of US President Donald Trump's peace plan.

Israel has also rejected US calls to withdraw from Gaza and Lebanon, insisting that Hamas and Hezbollah disarm first before any further action can be taken. The Israeli forces' bombing of Lebanon on Sunday, in strikes that Iran regards as violations of a months-old ceasefire, adds pressure to the faltering US-Iran negotiations, with the White House searching for new strategies to inflict economic pain on Tehran and create "economic isolation."

Brief written by urgent.news from Semafor's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.