Hamas urges Trump's Board of Peace to 'compel' Israel to accept Gaza plan
Kushner and other Trump envoys met mediators and Hamas officials in Cairo to push the US president's Gaza peace plan forward, as Israel continued airstrikes on the territory. Hamas called on mediators to force Israel to approve the plan.
Trump envoys met Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday in an effort to advance the US president's Gaza peace plan, while Israel continued carrying out airstrikes on the territory. Hamas officials were reportedly present at some of the meetings held with Trump's son-in-law and envoy Jared Kushner, along with Board of Peace envoy for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov.
In a later statement, Hamas called on mediators and the US-created board overseeing the ceasefire to "compel" Israel to approve Trump's latest roadmap. Kushner, Mladenov and former British prime minister Tony Blair were scheduled to meet Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Netanyahu has previously called the 15-point plan "unacceptable" — a rare public show of defiance toward close ally the United States.
Netanyahu is demanding full Hamas disarmament before any Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, while Hamas says handing over heavy weapons depends on Israel ending all forms of aggression and pulling its forces out. Trump's plan calls for an immediate halt to military operations, Hamas disarmament alongside an Israeli withdrawal, and reconstruction of the territory.
Strikes continue
The Israeli military said Sunday it struck two Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. Gaza medics said at least five Palestinians were wounded in a strike on a tent encampment, one of whom later died. A separate strike hit an apartment in the Nuseirat camp, wounding several more people.
An Israeli official voiced concern over Washington's demand to halt targeted killings of Hamas militants while the group rebuilds its forces. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates condemned Israel's rejection of the peace roadmap.
Meanwhile, the 60-day US-Iran memorandum aimed at ending their conflict expires Monday, 17 August, with talks still stalled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply over the weekend following attacks on tankers — five vessels transited the strait on Saturday and none on Sunday, compared with 31 the previous weekend.
