A displaced Palestinian youth inspects the damage at the site of an alleged Israeli strike on a tent in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on August 16, 2026. [AFP].
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner met Hamas's new leader in Egypt on Sunday, sources with knowledge of the talks told AFP, in a push to revive a Gaza peace plan rejected by Israel.
Two weeks after Hamas endorsed the latest stage of Trump's Gaza plan by saying it would hand over weapons to a new governing committee, Kushner pressed for verifiable disarmament, a key demand of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Kushner called for "concrete, verifiable steps" and relayed a message that "Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel", said one source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya took part in the discussions in the Egyptian Mediterranean city of El-Alamein, making his first trip since assuming leadership of the group in July.
Soon after he took the helm, Hamas backed the disarmament roadmap, a move that some observers believe was tactical in the knowledge that Israel would say no.
In the talks with Kushner, Hamas again voiced its commitment to the plan, another source with knowledge of the talks said.