President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner said on Monday (August 17, 2026) that progress towards disarming Hamas and moving forward with a Gaza peace plan could begin within a month after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . U.S.
The comments came as Mr. Kushner and Mr.
Netanyahu agreed that an American general would verify Hamas’s disarmament, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no Israeli pullout from Gaza until then.
The understanding marks a new attempt by President Donald Trump’s administration to satisfy Israel after Mr. It is led by U.S. Major General Jasper Jeffers. An official with Mr. Other Board of Peace members joining Kushner in the talks included former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
A roadmap agreed by Hamas on July 30 said that the decommissioning of weapons would be supervised by the International Stabilisation Force, the nascent unit that aims to deploy to Gaza if the situation calms.
Netanyahu, facing a tough re-election fight, publicly rejected the latest part of a U.S. plan aimed at “ending the devastating Gaza war”. “It was also agreed that the first step toward the demilitarisation of the Strip would be to require Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general,” the official said. Trump’s “Board of Peace” implementing the deal said that “every weapon collected will be fully decommissioned so it cannot be used again” and said that Israel “retains its full right of self-defence”. “If Hamas resorts to terror, violence or attempts to rearm, Israel will retain the right to act accordingly,” the official said. Earlier reporting noted: According to an official quoted in an AFP report, Netanyahu told Kushner that Israel would not pull troops from Gaza until then till the disarmament is complete. Earlier reporting noted: The two sides “agreed that the first step toward the demilitarisation of the Strip would be to require Hamas to hand over its weapons for decommissioning under the supervision of an American general,” the Israeli official quoted in the report said.
Earlier reporting noted: Israeli PM Netanyahu, Trump envoy agree on US general’s supervision on Hamas disarmament Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Monday with US envoy Jared Kushner that a US general should supervise Hamas’s disarmament, a day after Donald Trump’s son-in-law met the Palestinian militant group’s representative.
