President Trump dispatched Jared Kushner to a surprise meeting with Hamas political leaders in Egypt on Sunday, pressing the terrorist group to disarm and surrender control of Gaza, a demand that has put Washington on a collision course with both Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Kushner, serving as U.S. Special Envoy for Peace, sat down with Hamas political leader Khalil al-Hayy, Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi, and an unnamed senior Turkish official, the Daily Mail reported. Two sources close to the meeting told Axios that the session focused on translating Hamas's stated willingness to demilitarize "into concrete, verifiable steps."

The meeting came just hours after Rashad held a separate sit-down with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya, the Egyptian intelligence chief's first known meeting with Hamas leaders since the end of the war last October, The Times of Israel reported. Kushner was due to meet with Netanyahu on Monday to discuss what the administration described as "corresponding steps" Israel must take under the peace framework.

The diplomatic push represents the most direct engagement yet between a senior Trump administration official and the Islamist terrorist group that has governed Gaza for 19 years. And it arrives at a moment when neither side appears ready to meet the other's conditions.

Trump's peace framework faces resistance from both sides

Trump proposed the peace plan framework in September 2025 to end the war in Gaza, initiate the release of hostages, and lay out a roadmap for post-war reconstruction and governance. The framework produced an initial ceasefire and a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, a significant early result that the president celebrated.

The plan's core demand is unambiguous. A source familiar with the administration's position put it bluntly:

"There can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure. And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel."

Under the framework, an International Stabilization Force would deploy to oversee Gaza's reconstruction and recovery, while authority would transfer to a Palestinian technocratic government. Hamas would have no future role in governing the territory.

Last month, Trump celebrated what he described as a breakthrough, saying Hamas had agreed to lay down its arms. But the details told a different story. Hamas said it would only disarm after Israel fully withdraws from Gaza and ends all military operations. The group added that surrendering heavy weapons would come later, and only if a Palestinian state is established.

That is not disarmament. That is a list of preconditions designed to delay disarmament indefinitely. Trump, to his credit, appears unwilling to let the process stall. Sending Kushner directly into a room with Hamas leaders signals the administration's intent to force the issue rather than let it drift into diplomatic limbo, much as Trump intervened personally to free a former Marine from Russian custody earlier this year.

Netanyahu rejected the plan outright on August 9

If Hamas is dragging its feet, Netanyahu has planted his firmly. At an August 9 Cabinet meeting, the Israeli prime minister left no room for interpretation:

"I want to clarify this: Israel rejects the 15-point document. I have heard people saying, 'You didn't say that'. So here I am saying it again."

Netanyahu went further, declaring that the Israel Defense Forces would not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is disarmed, a condition that creates a circular standoff, since Hamas says it will not disarm until Israel withdraws first. Netanyahu's flat rejection of the U.S.-backed plan put him publicly at odds with the Trump administration's roadmap.

On the question of what disarmament means, Netanyahu has been precise:

"When I say Hamas must be disarmed, I mean heavy weapons, lighter weapons, all weapons. We are talking about genuine disarmament, not a fictitious one."

He also closed the door on Palestinian statehood entirely: "As long as I am Prime Minister, there will be no Palestinian State." That position directly conflicts with Hamas's stated precondition for surrendering heavy weapons, the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The result is a three-way deadlock. Trump wants both sides to move together, Hamas disarms while Israel withdraws. Hamas wants Israel to go first. Netanyahu wants Hamas to go first and says the plan itself is unacceptable. With Netanyahu's public rejection of the disarmament framework already on the record, Kushner's Monday meeting with the Israeli leader carries real weight.

Hamas wants international pressure on Netanyahu, not concessions of its own

Senior Hamas official Basim Naeem responded to Netanyahu's August 9 remarks by urging U.S. officials and international mediators to "exert pressure" on the Israeli leader and "prevent him from obstructing the process for domestic political and electoral considerations." Naeem said Hamas remained committed to the framework and framed the group's stance as one of "national responsibility" and service to the "interests of the Palestinian people."

Naeem's framing is worth examining. He accused Netanyahu of acting out of electoral self-interest, Netanyahu faces elections in October, while presenting Hamas as the reasonable party. But Hamas is the organization that governed Gaza for 19 years, that launched the attacks that started the war, and that is now attaching conditions to disarmament that it knows Israel will not accept. Calling for pressure on the other side while offering conditional compliance is a familiar move. It is not the same as agreeing to disarm.

Some analysts have suggested that public friction between Trump and Netanyahu may serve a strategic purpose, keeping adversaries guessing about the true state of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Whether that dynamic is at play here remains unclear.

Open questions the meeting did not answer

No outcome from Sunday's meeting has been reported. The administration has not disclosed what specific "corresponding steps" it expects Israel to take beyond gradual military withdrawals. The composition and mandate of the proposed International Stabilization Force remain undefined. And the identity of the Palestinian technocratic government that would assume authority in Gaza has not been specified.

There is also a discrepancy in the plan's description. The administration and media accounts describe it as a 20-point framework, but Netanyahu's own words at the August 9 Cabinet meeting referred to a "15-point document." Whether these are two different versions, a numbering change, or simply inconsistent labeling has not been clarified.

Meanwhile, the broader regional picture remains volatile. Iran has rebuffed U.S. diplomatic overtures on other fronts, and the question of whether any deal in Gaza can hold without addressing Tehran's influence over Hamas and other proxy groups looms over every negotiation.

Trump is doing what no previous president attempted, putting his own envoy across the table from Hamas and demanding the group give up its weapons, its governing power, and its reason for existing. Whether Hamas or Netanyahu will cooperate is another matter. But the days of letting both sides stall while diplomats issue press releases appear to be over.