Kushner's Negotiations with Hamas and Israel Collapse
Trump envoy Jared Kushner concluded two days of meetings with Israeli and Hamas leaders without progress on the Gaza plan, as the deadline for a US-Iran deal expires.
Trump envoy Jared Kushner concluded two days of meetings with Israeli and Hamas leaders without progress on the Gaza plan, as the deadline for a US-Iran deal expires.
Jared Kushner, envoy of US President Donald Trump and his son-in-law, concluded on Monday, August 17, 2026, two days of meetings with Israeli and Hamas leaders without any breakthrough in efforts to revive the Gaza plan. Kushner met with Hamas's political leader in Egypt on Sunday and with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel a day later, but both sides remained firmly entrenched in their positions.
According to SCMP, Kushner also met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in El Alamein, Egypt. The talks were aimed at reviving a plan that has stalled as Israel continued airstrikes and territorial advances in Gaza despite the October ceasefire, while Hamas refused to surrender its weapons.
In talks with Kushner, Hamas expressed readiness for demilitarization, but under conditions that include a halt to Israeli attacks and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. On the other hand, SCMP reports that Hamas refused to hand over its weapons and agreed to the plan, but implementation depends on Israel first fulfilling its obligations, including stopping attacks and withdrawing.
Netanyahu made it clear that the military will not withdraw from the demarcation line established by the October ceasefire and will continue to conduct operations in Gaza as it deems necessary, including targeting those involved in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
This quote from an Israeli official was relayed by SCMP, adding that Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition is losing ground in Israeli polls ahead of national elections in October 2026, publicly rejected the US plan under which Hamas would hand over its weapons in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Last month, Trump announced that Hamas had agreed to a gradual handover of weapons under a 15-point plan proposed by his so-called Board of Peace. Under that plan, the Israeli military would withdraw from Gaza, and Hamas would disarm in phases. However, Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, stated that the military would withdraw only when Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza are fully disarmed.
As Gaza talks stall, the 60-day deadline since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US, signed on June 17, 2026, has also expired. That document was meant to represent a transition from wartime conflict to a lasting political agreement, but no final deal has been reached.
Nevertheless, negotiation channels are not closed. Iran and Oman are attempting to finalize a special navigation model for the Strait of Hormuz, under which ships would pass through predetermined corridors along the Iranian and Omani coasts. Washington considers the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz a key condition for reducing pressure on Iran, while Tehran demands the lifting of the blockade, security guarantees, the withdrawal of US forces, and payment of war reparations.
Shipping through Hormuz remains severely disrupted, and energy prices remain a political problem for Washington. US military commanders also warn of dwindling stockpiles of certain types of precision munitions, Večernji list concludes.
