A senior Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya arrived in Cairo on August 15 evening and met Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad the next day to discuss implementation of a Gaza ceasefire and the 15-point Gaza plan proposed by former US President Donald Trump [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Gaza plan calls for Hamas to disarm and transfer governing authority to a new Palestinian technocratic committee under international supervision [1, 5, 6]. Hamas reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire and to the post-war Gaza plan during talks in Cairo. Senior Hamas figures present included Mohammed Darwish, Khaled Meshaal, Zaher Jabarin, and Basem Naim [1, 7, 6, 8, 4, 3].
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected the Gaza plan on August 9, vowing no Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas is genuinely disarmed [1, 5, 2, 7]. Netanyahu told reporters, “forces will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed” [2]. Despite this, some sources say Israel remains in dialogue with Washington over certain aspects of the plan [5].
US envoy Jared Kushner visited Cairo on August 16 to meet Hamas leaders, Egyptian officials, and mediators from Qatar and Turkey to push Gaza plan implementation [1, 5, 2, 7, 6, 4]. An anonymous source familiar with the Kushner-Hamas talks said, “There can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure. And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel” [6]. Kushner is expected to visit Israel on August 17 to meet Netanyahu [1, 7, 6].
Regional countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia condemned Israel’s rejection of the Gaza plan, calling it an obstacle to peace efforts. Their joint statement said, “Rejecting the Road Map constitutes an explicit refusal… Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory” [5].
Violations of the ceasefire continue. Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed at least 1,260 Palestinians and injured over 4,100 since the truce began in October 2025. Over 73,000 Palestinians have died since the October 2023 Gaza offensive [2, 8, 4].
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the meetings in Egypt aim to press the “occupation’s adherence to the roadmap agreed upon with the Board of Peace,” which includes Kushner, Nickolay Mladenov, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair [8, 7, 6]. Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim added, “We continue to await pressure from the mediators and the US side on Netanyahu and his government to compel him to abide by the roadmap” [2].
Talks in Cairo seek to compel Israel to end violations, including those affecting Palestinian prisoners [1, 8, 4]. Jared Kushner’s visit to Israel on August 17 is the next concrete step to discuss Israel’s response to the Gaza plan and prospects for easing tensions.
