OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
3:29 PM – Sunday, August 16, 2026
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, met with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo, as well as Hamas officials who reaffirmed their commitment to demilitarize Gaza, according to a diplomatic source with direct knowledge of the situation cited by the press.
The source described the 90-minute meeting with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday as “very productive.”
Kushner thanked Hamas leaders for their cooperation and efforts to recover the bodies of all deceased Israeli hostages, as well as their continued dedication to disarmament. Hamas leaders in turn thanked the Trump administration and the Board of Peace for their humanitarian efforts in Gaza, according to Axios, citing an anonymous source.
The meeting was aimed at carrying out the plan negotiated by Trump’s International Board of Peace by outlining actionable steps.
The tangible steps in question would include maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, facilitating the withdrawal of Israeli forces, establishing an international stabilizing force in the region, and transferring governing responsibilities to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — a Palestinian technocratic and apolitical governing body that ensures Hamas has no role in the area’s future governance — among other items on the agenda.
“Kushner stressed to Hamas leaders that the bar is high because the Israeli side doesn’t trust them to actually disarm,” the source said, per Axios. “Kushner told them there is no room for negotiations on the disarmament, but if they show real steps the U.S. will do its best to make sure Israel takes steps of its own.”
Hamas expressed concerns over continued strikes in Gaza from Israel, according to the source, though Kushner reportedly “pushed back and said that it took them four months to agree to disarm.”
This marked Kushner’s first meeting with Hamas leaders since the Gaza agreement was reached in October.
Board of Peace high representatives Nickolay Mladenov and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair were also reportedly present at the meeting, as well as Board of Peace senior advisers Aryeh Lightstone and Liran Tancman.
The meeting follows Trump’s announcement in late July that the Board of Peace reached an agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas and all other militant groups in the region.
“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“This is a major milestone in the implementation of the Trump 20-Point Plan,” he continued. “The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”
Kushner and Mladenov are expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Monday.
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