Kushner meets Netanyahu after talks with Hamas on Gaza plan

Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday following talks with Hamas leaders in an effort to revive a Gaza peace plan that Israel has rejected. This meeting occurred two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of the Trump-Gaza plan, which Netanyahu has refused to support due to the group's need to be "genuinely disarmed".

The diplomat confirmed that the meeting began late on Monday in Jerusalem. Kushner had previously met with Hamas' new leader Khalil al-Hayya in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein on Sunday, where he demanded that the group confirm it is disarming and that Hamas renounce any future role in governing the Palestinian territory. Netanyahu is expected to meet with Kushner and Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on Trump's "Board of Peace" implementing the plan.

A Hamas official stated that the group is committed to the Gaza plan and seeks pressure on Netanyahu to adhere to the roadmap agreement. The US administration has become more open to engaging directly with Hamas to end the conflict, as seen in the October ceasefire agreement that led to the release of remaining Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu, facing elections in October, has been willing to defy Trump, who once supported him in his campaign. Netanyahu has also expressed dissatisfaction with Trump's decision to halt the US-Israeli war on Iran and pursue a settlement with Tehran's clerical leaders. Netanyahu rejected the Gaza plan and vowed not to withdraw troops from the Palestinian territory, despite the Board of Peace's calls for Israel to start a phased withdrawal.

Hardline minister Itamar Ben Gvir called for mass killings in Gaza, stating that targeted eliminations should be carried out every night. Eight Muslim-majority countries condemned Israel's rejection of the Gaza plan. Israel has resumed airstrikes in Gaza, killing at least 1,265 Palestinians since the ceasefire began on October 10, according to Gaza's health ministry figures. The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks during Gaza operations over the same period.