Kushner meets Hamas leaders in Egypt to push Trump’s Gaza plan

Trump’s envoy has pushed for strong disarmament and an end to any future Hamas role in running Gaza, diplomatic sources tell AFP.Hamas leaders have met in Egypt with US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East envoy Jared Kushner, who is seeking to push a Gaza plan rejected by Israel.Hamas reiterated its commitment in the meeting on Sunday to the deal while Kushner pushed for disarmament and an end to any future Hamas role in running Gaza, diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Kushner to visit Israel after Netanyahu rejects Gaza Board of Peace planlist 2 of 4Ben-Gvir calls for nightly killings of Palestinians in Gazalist 3 of 4Hamas leader heads to Cairo for Gaza talks ahead of Kushner visitlist 4 of 4Doctor describes amputating girl’s leg in Gaza without anaesthesiaend of listKushner’s trip to Israel and Egypt is an effort to narrow differences over Trump’s latest roadmap for Gaza, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week was “unacceptable”.Trump’s so-called Board of Peace high representative Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is also a member of the board, joined Kushner in the meeting, Axios reported.Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya attended alongside Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali Al Thawadi and a senior Turkish official, the US outlet stated.A source told Axios that the objective of the meeting was “translating” Hamas’s disarmament “into concrete, verifiable steps”.Hamas, meanwhile, voiced its commitment to the agreement, another source with knowledge of the talks told AFP.Hamas and the US envoy have yet to confirm that the meeting took place.The United States has, for years, refused contact with Hamas, which it classifies as a “terrorist organisation”. But the Trump administration has increasingly been comfortable with direct contact in hopes of ending the conflict.