Kushner meets Netanyahu in hours-long talks on Gaza ceasefire plan

Jared Kushner, the former White House senior adviser, spent several hours in Jerusalem on Monday meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the 15-point U.S. roadmap intended to advance a cease-fire and reconstruction in Gaza. The discussion took place a day after Kushner’s two-hour meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo, as Washington continues to press Israel to endorse the plan.

The roadmap calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, contingent on Hamas fully disarming. Hamas has said it is prepared to comply, while Israel maintains that disarmament must precede any pull-back. Netanyahu’s office said the talks resulted in an agreement to form two working groups – one on Gaza’s disarmament and demilitarisation, and another on public-health issues – and that demilitarisation should be completed before reconstruction begins.

Former British prime minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov also attended the meeting, according to diplomatic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The demilitarisation should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction," the Israeli statement read.

Regional actors, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia, issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the roadmap and urging the Board of Peace and the United States to take immediate steps to prevent obstruction of the plan.

Kushner’s Cairo talks with Hamas reportedly focused on a cease-fire, a withdrawal to the so-called “yellow line” and the release of hostages, though the exact location of that line has not been defined. Hamas officials said the group demanded an end to Israeli attacks and a pull-back to the line before any implementation.

In Gaza, residents expressed mixed reactions. Mohammad Abu al-Qombuz, living in a tent camp in Gaza City, said, "A conference here and there, it is all lies. We need a definitive solution that would work for everybody."

The roadmap also envisions a Palestinian technocratic committee overseeing daily operations in Gaza, but the committee has not yet entered the territory. Hamas has linked the surrender of its heavy weapons to the establishment of a Palestinian state, a condition Israel’s current government rejects.

Netanyahu faces a national election on Oct. 27 and must balance coalition pressures with the diplomatic push for a cease-fire, while the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks approaches.