New Delhi, 17 August 2026: Amid efforts to establish peace in the Middle East, an important meeting was held in Egypt between US President Donald Trump's advisor Jared Kushner and top Hamas leaders. In this meeting that lasted for about 90 minutes, Hamas expressed readiness to free Gaza from weapons and military infrastructure and hand over the governance of Gaza to the Palestinian Technical Government.
During the meeting, Jared Kushner had clearly stated that just giving verbal promises will not suffice, concrete steps will have to be taken at the ground level for Hamas to give up its weapons. Since Israel does not trust Hamas' policies, America wants Hamas to first establish trust through its actions. According to the report, Kushner has assured Hamas leaders that if they give up their weapons, the US will also try to get Israel to take necessary steps for its share.
During the meeting, Hamas leaders said that they are ready to hand over the governance of Gaza to a technocratic government, and that after this government starts functioning, there will be no interference in Hamas administrative administration. However, America has a clear condition that Hamas should have no role in the future governance and it will have to completely destroy all its weapons and military camps. Kushner reiterated that there is no possibility of any negotiations or relaxation on the issue of giving up weapons.
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Israel will also have to take retaliatory measures
If Hamas starts giving up weapons to carry forward the second phase of the Trump administration's 20-point peace plan, Israel will also have to take some steps in return. This includes allowing the deployment of 'International Stabilization Force' in Gaza, starting reconstruction in Rafah area and discussing the priority withdrawal of Israeli troops. During the meeting, Hamas expressed displeasure over the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
In this high-level meeting, along with Jared Kushner, senior representative of the 'Board of Peace' Nikolai Mladenov, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, senior advisors Ari Lightstone and Liran Tankman were present. While political leader Khalil al-Hayya was present from Hamas. Apart from this, Egypt's secret agency chief Hassan Rashad, Qatar's Ali Al Thawadi and senior Turkish officials were also present in the meeting.
After the meeting, the Hamas leader said that we have agreed to the roadmap for the second phase of Trump's plan, which includes a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, continued humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. However, Hamas' statement did not clearly mention the issue of giving up weapons. Additionally, Hamas had accused Israel of not fulfilling the conditions of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement and tried to exert pressure on Israel through mediators.
Now the Board of Peace wants Hamas to hand over its weapons and begin removing military bases. On the other hand, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Kushner that Gaza has been a major cause of instability in the region in recent years. In his opinion, improving the situation in Gaza will help in bringing stability in the entire region.