CAIRO, 17 August. - (ANA) - Senior Hamas officials and Trump envoy Jared Kushner were both in Egypt's coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday for discussions with Egyptian leaders after Israel rejected Washington's post-war plan for Gaza.

 

Regional mediators are stepping up pressure on the Trump administration to force Israel's hand, with eight Arab and Muslim countries issuing a statement coinciding with the Egypt talks that condemned Benjamin Netanyahu's attempt to "derail" the peace process.

 

Kushner met with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for talks that "emphasised the need for all parties to fulfill their obligations under the Gaza Strip ceasefire agreement", Sisi's spokesperson said in a statement, without disclosing further information.

 

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and intelligence chief Hassan Rashad also attended the meeting.

 

Rashad also met with a Hamas delegation led by its leader Khalil al-Hayya, who "reaffirmed commitment to completing US President Donald Trump's plan", Egypt's state-run Middle East News Agency reported.

 

Hamas sources told AFP that Kushner and Hamas's leadership would meet for direct talks alongside Egyptian and Qatari officials before the US envoy travels to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

Hamas had said in late July that it was ready to hand over its weapons to a nascent technical committee set to govern Gaza, as part of a 15-point plan announced by Trump's Board of Peace.

 

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the plan, vowing there would be no withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza until the territory is completely demilitarised.

 

A Hamas official had told AFP the talks in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein would cover "the latest developments in the negotiations and the efforts being made to compel Israel to abide by the agreement, which includes the 15-point roadmap, and to begin its implementation".

 

"The delegation will brief Egyptian officials on Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement, and Hayya will emphasise the movement's commitment and readiness to implement the agreement as soon as Israel announces its commitment to it."

 

The source added that contacts were underway with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators "to compel Israel to abide by the agreement".

 

In a joint statement amid the talks, five Arab countries together with Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia condemned Israel's rejection of Trump's plan.

 

The countries said  Netanyahu's "direct repudiation" of the deal "directly threatens to derail the extensive efforts exerted by US President Trump to bring an end to the war in Gaza".

 

"Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza," read the statement, which was signed by Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/17 August 2026 - - -