Trump envoy Kushner arrives in Israel after rare Hamas talks on Gaza peace plan

US P eside t Do ald T ump’s Middle East e voy Ja ed Kush e has a ived i Is ael, whe e is expected to meet with Is aeli P ime Mi iste Be jami Neta yahu o Mo day.

It comes afte Kush e held a e talks with Hamas to discuss the impleme tatio of the US-backed Gaza peace pla .

Last mo th, T ump’s Boa d of Peace said it had eached ag eeme t fo the “complete disa mame t” of Hamas a d othe a med g oups i Gaza. Last week, Is ael ejected T ump’s 15-poi t pla , which also calls fo Is aeli t oops to withd aw a d fo Gaza to be ebuilt u de a ew civilia Palesti ia admi ist atio .

Eight Muslim cou t ies issued a stateme t o Su day co dem i g Is ael’s ejectio .

T ump leads the Boa d of Peace – c eated as a i te atio al o ga isatio o igi ally i te ded to b i g peace to Gaza, but late expa ded to i clude co flicts wo ldwide.

A Palesti ia official told the BBC T ump’s so -i -law met a delegatio led by Hamas’s ew leade Khalil al-Hayya i Egypt o Su day.

Hamas, i a stateme t, late called o mediato s a d the Boa d of Peace to “compel” Is ael to app ove the oadmap fo the ext steps.

But Neta yahu faces a tough Octobe electio to t y to hold o to powe , with a coalitio that i cludes mi iste s i favou of taki g a ha she li e o Gaza.

Ma y Is aelis a e also sceptical that Hamas is eady to disa m.

Kush e ‘s meeti g with Hayya is said to be the fi st at this level si ce last yea ‘s ag eeme t of a ceasefi e fo the Gaza St ip.

Boa d of Peace e voys Nickolay Mlade ov a d UK ex-P ime Mi iste To y Blai we e epo tedly also pa t of the meeti g – alo gside ep ese tatives of Egypt, Qata a d Tu key, which have mediated i the peace effo ts.

No official stateme t has bee eleased of the talks epo tedly focusi g o co c ete actio s to decommissio Hamas’s weapo s – as well as the withd awal of Is aeli t oops a d huma ita ia effo ts.

Whilst i Egypt, Kush e also met Egyptia P eside t Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Acco di g to Is aeli media epo ts, Mlade ov a d Blai will also meet Neta yahu o Mo day with the aim of adva ci g T ump’s pla .

The Is aeli p ime mi iste has said he wa ts a full Hamas disa mame t fi st i o de to impleme t the deal.

“Is ael ejects the Boa d of Peace’s 15-poi t docume t o Gaza. The IDF will ot ca y out a y withd awal u til Hamas is ge ui ely disa med,” Neta yahu said last week, defyi g Is ael’s closest ally.

Neta yahu faces p essu e withi his ow cabi et to co ti ue ope atio s i Gaza. Ea lie this mo th, fa – ight Is aeli Natio al Secu ity Mi iste Itama Be Gvi dismissed the d aft as ” ot acceptable”.

I a podcast i te view that ai ed o 15 August, with Rom B aslavski, who was take hostage by Hamas du i g the 7 Octobe attack, Be Gvi was asked about Is ael educi g ope atio s i Gaza a d said, “It’s o sec et, I disag ee with the p ime mi iste ,” acco di g to the Associated P ess.

He said he thought that “ta geted assassi atio s” should be ca ied out, “taki g dow 30 to 40 eve y ight. Not just those who pose a immediate th eat – the e a e people the e who a e ot wo thy of life. They should ‘t live. They’ e ot eve people.” The comme ts we e also epo ted i the Fi a cial Times a d Times of Is ael.

Followi g Is ael’s ejectio of the 15-poi t pla , the e appea ed to be a pause i Is aeli ai st ikes o Gaza, though attacks have si ce co ti ued.

I a joi t stateme t o Su day, Egypt, UAE, Qata , Saudi A abia, Jo da , Tu key, Pakista a d I do esia said Is ael’s ejectio of the US pla th eate ed T ump’s effo ts fo peace.

The ceasefi e, which came i to effect o 10 Octobe last yea , emai s i place.

Howeve , the Is ael Defe se Fo ces have ca ied out ea daily st ikes si ce the .

Mo e tha 1,200 people have bee killed si ce the ceasefi e acco di g to the Hamas- u Health Mi ist y, whose figu es a e co side ed eliable by the UN. U icef says at least 300 child e have epo tedly bee killed.

The e was a lull i attacks – epo tedly at the equest of the US – eve afte Is ael ejected the 15-poi t pla .

Howeve , Is aeli st ikes have si ce esumed. The Is aeli milita y said o Su day that it had ta geted Hamas a d Islamic Jihad “te o ists” i Kha You is a d Nusei at. Local medics said seve al people livi g i a te t camp i Kha You is we e i ju ed.

Is ael a d Hamas accuse each othe of ceasefi e violatio s.

The wa was t igge ed by the Hamas-led attack o southe Is ael o 7 Octobe 2023, i which about 1,200 people we e killed a d 251 othe s we e take hostage.

Is ael espo ded to the attack by lau chi g a milita y campaig i Gaza, du i g which mo e tha 73,000 people have bee killed, i cludi g 21,280 child e , acco di g to the te ito y’s health mi ist y, whose figu es a e co side ed eliable by the UN.

The UN estimates that about 1.9 millio people – 90% of Gaza’s populatio – have bee displaced si ce the wa sta ted.