By Alexander Cornwell
JERUSALEM, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner on Monday wrapped up two days of meetings with Israeli and Hamas leaders to break a stalemate over the U.S. President's Gaza plan, but no breakthrough appeared imminent as both sides dug in.
Kushner met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, a day after meeting Hamas' political leader in Egypt to revive the plan, which has stalled as Israel has carried out air strikes and grabbed more territory
in Gaza despite an October ceasefire, while Hamas has also refused to give up its weapons.
Trump last month announced that Hamas had agreed to lay down its arms in phases, under a 15-point roadmap put forward by his so-called Board of Peace to advance the president's plan, as Israel's military withdraws from Gaza. Hamas said it agreed to the roadmap but implementation depends on Israel first meeting its own commitments, including halting attacks and withdrawing.
NO BREAKTHROUGH IN JERUSALEM
Netanyahu, whose ruling coalition is trailing in Israeli opinion polls ahead of an October national election, earlier this month rejected the roadmap, insisting Israel would not withdraw until Hamas is completely disarmed.
An Israeli official indicated that there was no breakthrough in the meeting, saying Netanyahu had made it clear the military would not withdraw from a demarcation line set out in an October ceasefire and would continue to carry out operations in Gaza as it sees necessary, including targeting those who took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.
Hamas has demanded Israel adhere to the ceasefire, while both sides have disputed the sequencing of how Trump's plan to end the war would be implemented. Over 1,200 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since October, according to Gazan health officials and the Israeli military.
There was no immediate comment from the Board of Peace. Two sources said Kushner's meeting with Netanyahu lasted several hours. Nikolay Mladenov, Trump's Board of Peace envoy for Gaza who is widely seen as leading efforts to implement the plan, also attended the meeting, the sources told Reuters.
The Israeli official said Netanyahu and Kushner agreed in the meeting that the reconstruction of Gaza would not begin until Hamas was fully disarmed, including of light weapons.
In a statement that characterized the meeting as "deep and constructive", the prime minister's office said that Israel and the Board of Peace believe that Gaza's disarmament should be "prompt and completed before any reconstruction happens".
It also said that Netanyahu had agreed with the Board of Peace to establish a working group on disarmament and demilitarization, and another working group that focuses on sanitation, clean water and other public health issues in Gaza.
RECONSTRUCTION
U.S. and Israeli officials have previously said that reconstruction could happen in areas of Gaza under Israeli control or a new Palestinian technocratic government. The Board of Peace has indicated that while rifles would be prohibited, some personal weapons would be permitted under Palestinian law.
Netanyahu is facing a tough re-election campaign and diplomats say it is unlikely Israel's longest-serving leader would make any concessions over Gaza before the October 27 vote.
Kushner and Mladenov were in Israel after meeting with Hamas political leader Khalil Al-Hayya in Egypt on Sunday.
It marks Kushner's second known meeting with representatives of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group designated a terrorist movement by the United States.
Kushner previously met Hamas officials alongside U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in October 2025, helping clinch a deal that led to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages seized by Hamas.
(Writing by Tom Perry and Alexander Cornwell; editing by Rami Ayyub, Gareth Jones, Alexandra Hudson)
