US envoy meets Hamas chief in fresh push to revive stalled Gaza truce

Cairo: US envoy Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday, as part of a fresh diplomatic attempt to revive a stalled Gaza ceasefire roadmap. The more than two-hour meeting comes as the Trump administration faces a difficult push to bridge the divide between Hamas and Israel over the next phase of the truce, according to The Guardian.

Kushner, also the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, was joined by fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which are involved in mediation efforts. The talks focused on a US-backed 15-point plan that seeks Hamas's disarmament alongside an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, where the prolonged conflict has devastated the territory and left around two million people facing an uncertain future.

The diplomatic effort has gained urgency after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the roadmap last week, creating an unusually open dispute with the Trump administration. Kushner, former British prime minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov are due to meet Netanyahu on Monday in an effort to overcome his objections and prevent the ceasefire process from collapsing.

Hamas has urged the mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to pressure Israel into accepting the roadmap. The group is seeking movement towards the next stage of the agreement, while the question of disarmament remains the central obstacle.

The pressure on Israel is also growing from regional powers. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators jointly condemned Netanyahu's rejection, arguing that Israel was obstructing efforts to establish peace in Gaza. The latest Kushner-Hamas contact, therefore, represents a high-stakes attempt to rescue a process that has repeatedly stalled over the most difficult terms of the ceasefire.