Kushner Meets Hamas Chief in Egypt as Mediators Push Gaza Road Map

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday, August 16, 2026, as mediators sought to revive a stalled plan for the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

The meeting lasted more than two hours and also involved other U.S. and regional participants, according to reporting carried by The Guardian and Al Jazeera. Officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been involved in mediation, were also represented. Hamas later said it had urged mediators and the U.S.-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to press Israel to accept the proposed road map.

The 15-point, U.S.-backed proposal links a gradual handover of Hamas weapons to a halt in Israeli attacks and a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas has said it is prepared to enter a 14-day negotiation period on an implementation timetable, but has tied the surrender of its heaviest weapons to progress toward a Palestinian state. Israel’s current government opposes Palestinian statehood.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the road map last week. His government says Israeli forces will not withdraw from positions in Gaza until Hamas has been fully disarmed, leaving major elements of the ceasefire—including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces—on hold.

Kushner was due to meet Netanyahu on Monday, August 17, alongside former British prime minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov. The diplomatic effort is aimed at narrowing the gap between the parties over disarmament, withdrawal and enforcement of the ceasefire arrangements.

The talks come more than 10 months after the ceasefire ended major military operations in Gaza. The territory’s roughly two million residents continue to face the consequences of extensive wartime destruction, while reconstruction remains tied to agreement on security and governance arrangements.