Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the conflict in Gaza City, August 15, 2026.— Reuters
– Trump’s proposal calls for an immediate halt to military operations in Gaza.
– Envoys are set to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to an Israeli official.
– Israel claims it targeted militants in its recent Gaza strikes.
Donald Trump’s representatives met with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey in Cairo on Sunday, an anonymous diplomatic source revealed. The goal was to push forward with the U.S. president’s peace initiative for Gaza, despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes in the region.
Hamas officials attended some of the talks that Trump’s envoy and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as Nickolay Mladenov—Trump’s representative for Gaza—conducted with mediators.
An Israeli official stated that Kushner and Mladenov were scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Netanyahu had previously dismissed Trump’s recent peace plan for Gaza as “unacceptable” on August 9.
The Israeli source expressed concerns over Washington’s insistence on ending targeted killings of Hamas fighters, as the group works to rebuild its strength.
Trump’s peace proposal demands an immediate end to hostilities in Gaza, envisioning Hamas disarming as Israeli forces withdraw and Gaza undergoes reconstruction under a new civilian Palestinian government.
Israel has resumed airstrikes after a brief reduction earlier this month. The military reported hitting two militants from Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Khan Younis and Nuseirat, injuring at least five Palestinians in the process. Medics noted that one of the wounded in Khan Younis later died from their injuries.
Another strike targeted a different fighter, hitting an apartment in Nuseirat in central Gaza and wounding several individuals, according to medical personnel.
Earlier, Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya met with Egypt’s intelligence chief, Hassan Rashad, in Cairo. Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem mentioned that Al-Hayya would update mediators on alleged violations of the ceasefire by Israel.
Last month, Trump announced a major breakthrough in his effort to end the conflict. Hamas indicated it had agreed to the peace plan to avoid further fighting but emphasized that Israel must first meet its commitments by withdrawing its forces and ceasing attacks.
Five Arab nations along with Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia condemned Israel’s rejection of the plan. In a joint statement issued Sunday, they warned that this move jeopardizes Trump’s peace efforts.
Netanyahu’s Likud party, which faces tough polls ahead of the October 27 national election, claimed that Arab countries aim to topple Netanyahu so that his political opponents can “give them everything they want.”
Hamas also called on mediators and the Peace Board—established under Trump’s plan—to pressure Israel into fulfilling its initial obligations, ending ceasefire violations, and approving the next phase of the roadmap.
A ceasefire in October halted the intense two-year conflict that began after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. However, the ceasefire failed to stop all Israeli attacks entirely.
Since October 2025, Israeli forces have killed over 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom were civilians. The exact number of militants among the dead remains unclear, as Hamas typically does not disclose such details. Meanwhile, four Israeli soldiers have been killed by Gaza-based fighters during the same period, according to Israeli reports.