Hamas delegation opens talks in Egypt on Trump's Gaza peace plan

A Hamas delegation arrived in the Egyptian city of El-Alamein on Sunday to meet with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, aiming to discuss ways forward for the 15-point Gaza peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The delegation, led by Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, had arrived in Egypt on Saturday evening ahead of a planned regional visit by Trump's envoy Jared Kushner.

According to a Hamas official, the talks are set to cover recent developments in the negotiation process and efforts to press Israel into honouring the ceasefire agreement and beginning its implementation. The delegation intends to brief Egyptian officials on alleged Israeli violations of the truce, while al-Hayya is expected to reaffirm Hamas's readiness to implement the deal once Israel confirms its own commitment.

Netanyahu still opposed

In late July, Hamas said it was prepared to hand over its weapons to a newly formed technical committee tasked with governing Gaza under the plan drawn up by Trump's Board of Peace. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the plan, insisting Israeli forces will not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed.

A separate Hamas source said a meeting is being arranged during Kushner's visit to Egypt this week between the Hamas negotiating team, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, and US officials, to address obstacles to the agreement. The source added that contacts are ongoing with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators to push Israel toward compliance.

Kushner is expected to travel to both Israel and Egypt this week in an effort to narrow the gaps over the Gaza plan that Netanyahu has rejected.