TEL AVIV—President Trump has publicly advised Israel against conducting strikes on targets in Gaza. This statement comes as his envoy, Jared Kushner, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. The meeting aims to address the challenges facing the president’s plan to disarm Hamas and bring an end to the ongoing conflict.
Trump announced in late July that Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group, had agreed to a 15-point road map that would ultimately lead to Hamas surrendering its weapons to Palestinian authorities in exchange for the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. Because he said Hamas has agreed to lay down its weapons, trump told Fox News on Monday that Israel shouldn’t be carrying out those attacks,.
“Ultimately, they are giving up their guns,” Trump said, according to Fox chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. Kushner met Sunday with Hamas officials for direct talks in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, people familiar with the talks said. Hamas leader Khalil Al-Hayya was present for some of the meetings, the people said.
The visit by Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and one of his closest advisers, signaled the president’s growing frustration over the stagnating plan, which his administration has touted as a diplomatic success while it struggles to wind down its war with Iran .
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is also a top Board of Peace official, joined the delegation led by Kushner, one of the people familiar with the talks said. The pressure is heightened by elections looming in October where polls show the prime minister’s party is losing support. Mladenov and former U.K.
Netanyahu and many across the Israeli political spectrum are resolved that Hamas must be destroyed as a fighting and governing force before the war can end.
