Why Kushner met Hamas leaders, and what it means for Trump’s Gaza roadmap

EXPLAINERJared Kushner to meet Netanyahu next, after Israel rejected Trump’s 15-point Gaza roadmap.Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and United States envoy Jared Kushner [File:AFP]Published On 17 Aug 2026United States envoy Jared Kushner is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for high-stakes talks in Tel Aviv, following intensive diplomatic sessions in Cairo, Egypt, aimed at advancing the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire roadmap.Kushner, accompanied by Board of Peace Director-General Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, held an unprecedented meeting lasting more than two hours with a Hamas delegation. The Reuters news agency reported that Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya headed the team.The diplomatic push comes as Washington seeks to implement a 15-point roadmap for Gaza — approved by US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.However, Netanyahu has publicly rejected the framework, insisting that Israeli forces will not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed, while Israel continues military operations in Gaza and expands its illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.Here is what we know about Kushner’s meeting with Hamas leaders, what he is expected to do next, and what these developments mean for the 15-point plan for Gaza.Why did Kushner meet Hamas leaders?Officially, the US describes Hamas as a banned, “terrorist” organisation. Unofficially, the US has long engaged with the Palestinian group, mostly through mediators.Political analysts view the direct engagement between the US envoys and the Hamas leadership as a pivotal recognition of political realities on the ground.Mahjoob Zweiri, a lecturer and expert in Middle East politics at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that the meeting represents a “type of American submission to the fact that Hamas is a political force in Palestinian society that cannot be ignored”.He noted that despite Israeli attempts to sideline the group, Washington recognises that Hamas remains an indispensable actor for any lasting settlement.“This is a matter Netanyahu was trying to avoid,” Zweiri said, adding that the Israeli prime minister “is rebellious against US policy and international law”.Adel Shadid, an expert in Israeli affairs, echoed this assessment, describing the direct Cairo talks as a profound strategic shift that he said would be deeply unnerving for the Israeli leadership.“This reveals that there is a shift in the American position towards Hamas,” Shadid told Al Jazeera.He added that Washington now views the movement differently, indicating that “Hamas is no longer the problem in the American reading, but rather part of the solution”.Shadid emphasised that this dynamic “contradicts one of the most important goals of the war, represented by the eradication of Hamas, not only militarily but also politically”.Ahmed Atawna, director of the Istanbul-based Vision Center for Political Development, told Al Jazeera that Palestinian factions currently hold a solid tactical negotiating posture alongside Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators.“We can say now that the Palestinians and resistance factions — even if conditionally or tactically — are in a good negotiating position,” Atawna said.What’s on the agenda when Kushner meets Netanyahu?The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that US officials are increasingly frustrated that Israel is “trying to buy time, introduce new reservations, and change the sequencing set out in the roadmap”.Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the newspaper reported that Washington feels “Israel is playing games”.According to the daily, Kushner’s mandate during his Monday meeting with Netanyahu is not to reopen negotiations, with one source stating that he “is not coming to Israel for another round of diplomatic ping pong” but rather “is coming to close”.The US administration is expected to push Netanyahu on halting attacks in Gaza, withdrawing forces to the “Yellow Line“, significantly increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave and enabling the rollout of reconstruction and civilian governance mechanisms.Why does this matter to Trump?According to some analysts, Trump is increasingly invested in forcing a breakthrough over Gaza amid other foreign policy setbacks.“Iran is not going the way he wants, and his attempt to separate the Lebanese file from the memorandum of understanding did not succeed,” Zweiri told Al Jazeera. “The only file where he can make a breakthrough and record it as a victory in his foreign policy is the Gaza file now.”Eight Arab and Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkiye, issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the roadmap and accusing it of delaying efforts to end the genocidal war on Gaza.They warned that rejecting the framework “constitutes an explicit refusal to proceed with the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, and directly threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by US President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza”.Fifteen-point plan: What’s the main dispute over?The central dispute centres on the sequencing of obligations under the 15-point plan.The framework calls for a phased approach involving the cessation of military operations, the gradual dismantling and storage of arms, an Israeli military withdrawal and the deployment of an International Stabilization Force working alongside a Palestinian technocratic administration.While Hamas confirmed its acceptance of the roadmap during the Cairo meetings, it insisted that execution depends on Israel fulfilling its prior commitments and halting its daily violations of the “ceasefire” that officially came into effect last October.Since the broader “ceasefire” agreement took effect, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,260 Palestinians in Gaza.Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem stated that the Cairo talks focused on placing mediators and the Board of Peace in full view of Israeli violations, emphasising that any progress requires binding Israel to the agreed-upon roadmap.Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who also met Kushner, reiterated the necessity for all parties to respect the commitments made under the October 2025 Sharm el-Sheikh peace framework.