U.S. envoys, including Jared Kushner, are meeting with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo to advance President Trump’s Gaza peace plan. These crucial diplomatic efforts are taking place even as Israel continues its airstrikes in the enclave, leading to casualties and renewed tensions. Hamas officials were present at some meetings, but Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already rejected Trump’s latest roadmap, while several Muslim nations have condemned Israel’s stance.
U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic team has been actively engaging with Egyptian, Qatari, and Turkish mediators in Cairo. These critical discussions, which reportedly included Hamas officials in some sessions, aim to advance the Trump administration's proposed peace framework for Gaza. However, these diplomatic efforts unfold against a backdrop of escalating military actions, with Israel continuing its airstrikes on targets within the Gaza Strip.
Key figures from Trump's team, including his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, alongside Board of Peace envoy for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, spearheaded these talks. A senior Israeli official confirmed that Kushner and Mladenov are also slated to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Notably, Netanyahu had previously voiced his strong objection to Trump's most recent peace roadmap for Gaza, labeling it 'unacceptable' earlier this month.
Gaza Medical Teams Report Multiple Casualties from Israeli Strikes
Israel has raised concerns regarding Washington's stance on ending targeted assassinations of Hamas militants, particularly as the group reportedly works to re-fortify its capabilities. Trump's peace blueprint advocates for an immediate cessation of all military operations in Gaza. It further envisions Hamas disarming, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave, and the subsequent rebuilding of Gaza under a newly established civilian Palestinian administration.
Despite earlier de-escalation this month, Israel has recently recommenced its airstrikes. On Sunday, the Israeli military confirmed strikes against two Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Nuseirat. These operations tragically resulted in at least five Palestinians being wounded after a tent encampment was hit, according to local medics. Later reports from Nasser Hospital confirmed that one of the individuals wounded in Khan Younis succumbed to their injuries.
A separate Israeli airstrike, which military officials stated targeted another militant, struck an apartment within the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, causing multiple injuries, medical sources added. Earlier, Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya met with Egypt's intelligence chief Hassan Rashad in Cairo, with a Hamas spokesperson stating Al-Hayya intended to brief mediators on what the group considers Israel's ceasefire violations.
Muslim Nations Condemn Israeli Rejection of Peace Proposal
Last month, President Trump announced a supposed breakthrough in his initiative to end the conflict. Hamas, for its part, affirmed its conditional agreement to the plan, emphasizing that its implementation hinged on Israel fulfilling its own commitments, including troop withdrawals and a halt to attacks.
In a unified statement, five Arab nations, along with Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia, jointly condemned Israel's rejection of the peace plan on Sunday. They collectively warned that such a stance jeopardizes the ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to bring an end to the protracted conflict in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Netanyahu did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding this joint statement. Netanyahu's Likud party, which is facing electoral challenges ahead of the upcoming Oct. 27 national election, posted on social media platform X, alleging that Arab nations aspire to unseat Netanyahu, believing his political rivals would concede to their demands.
Hamas, in a statement released Sunday, urged mediators and the Board of Peace—a body established under Trump's peace plan—to compel Israel to honor its phase one obligations, cease its ceasefire violations, and approve the roadmap for the plan's second phase. The broader conflict in Gaza was initially ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. While an October ceasefire largely halted major fighting in the devastating two-year war, it has not entirely ended Israeli military actions. Since October 2025, Israeli fire has resulted in over 1,250 Palestinian fatalities in Gaza, predominantly civilians. The exact number of militants among the deceased remains unconfirmed, as Hamas typically refrains from disclosing such figures. During the same period, Israeli records indicate that four Israeli soldiers were killed by militants in Gaza.
