US President Donald Trump’s envoys have held talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators in Cairo as Washington seeks to advance its Gaza peace plan amid renewed Israeli airstrikes in the enclave.
A diplomatic source said Trump’s envoy and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and the president’s Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, met with the mediators on Sunday.
Hamas officials also attended some of the meetings, according to the source, as discussions focused on advancing the proposed framework for ending the conflict.
A senior Israeli official said Kushner and Mladenov are expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Netanyahu had described Trump’s latest Gaza roadmap as “unacceptable” on August 9.
The official said Israel remains concerned about Washington’s demand for an end to targeted killings of Hamas militants in Gaza, arguing that the group is rebuilding its forces.
Trump’s plan calls for an immediate halt to military operations in Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops, alongside the reconstruction of the enclave under a new civilian Palestinian administration.
Israeli Strikes Continue
The diplomatic efforts come as Israeli forces have resumed airstrikes in Gaza after reducing the intensity of their attacks earlier this month.
The Israeli military said its aircraft struck two Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Nuseirat on Sunday.
Medics said at least five Palestinians were wounded when one of the strikes hit a tent encampment in Khan Younis. Nasser Hospital later said one of those wounded died from their injuries.
A separate Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, with medics reporting several injuries.
Earlier, Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya met Egypt’s intelligence chief, Hassan Rashad, in Cairo.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Al-Hayya would brief Egyptian mediators on what the group described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
Arab and Muslim Countries Reject Israel’s Position
The diplomatic push has also drawn support from several Muslim-majority countries, which condemned Israel’s rejection of the proposed roadmap.
Five Arab countries, together with Turkey, Pakistan and Indonesia, said in a joint statement on Sunday that Israel’s rejection of the plan threatens Trump’s efforts to end the war in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately comment on the statement.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, which has faced declining support ahead of Israel’s October 27 national election, accused the Arab countries of seeking to remove the prime minister and install political rivals who would “give them everything that they want.”
Hamas, meanwhile, called on mediators and the Board of Peace to pressure Israel to fulfil its obligations under the first phase of the plan.
The group also called for an end to what it described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire and urged approval of the roadmap for the second phase.
An October ceasefire halted major fighting in the two-year Gaza war, which was triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, but it has failed to completely stop Israeli military operations.
Israeli fire has killed more than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2025, according to Palestinian medics, with most of those killed reported to be civilians.
The number of militants among the dead remains unclear, as Hamas does not routinely disclose figures for fighters killed in the conflict.
According to Israeli figures, four Israeli soldiers have been killed by militants in Gaza during the same period.
Boluwatife Enome
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