Trump Envoys Meet in Cairo to Advance Gaza Peace Plan Amid Israeli Opposition

U.S. envoys including Jared Kushner and Nickolay Mladenov met with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo on Sunday to advance President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza. The diplomatic efforts include meetings between Kushner and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as well as discussions with a Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya. The objective of these meetings is to move the American peace plan out of an impasse following its formal rejection by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The proposed 15 point roadmap calls for the immediate cessation of military operations and the eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. In exchange, the plan requires the complete disarmament of Hamas and other militants. Governance of the strip would be transferred to a new technocratic Palestinian administration known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza. To ensure security during the transition, the plan envisions the deployment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) to oversee the decommissioning of weapons and infrastructure.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated that the IDF will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed, rejecting the gradual process recommended by the Board of Peace. Meanwhile, Hamas officials have expressed support for the roadmap to avoid a resumption of full scale war but claim that implementation depends on Israel first meeting its commitments. Hamas leaders also used the Cairo meetings to denounce daily Israeli ceasefire violations.

Since an October ceasefire reduced the intensity of fighting, Israeli airstrikes have continued, killing more than 1,200 Palestinians according to Gaza health authorities. Israel maintains these strikes target militants and threats to its forces. During this period, four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza. The current diplomatic push seeks to translate the roadmap into concrete actions to maintain the ceasefire and establish a permanent governing structure.