By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

US President Donald Trump said Israel should stop striking Gaza as Jared Kushner sought to revive the stalled Hamas disarmament and withdrawal plan.

Key Takeaways

• Trump said Israel should not continue striking Gaza, arguing that Hamas has agreed to ultimately surrender its weapons.
• Kushner met Hamas officials in Egypt before holding more than three hours of talks with Netanyahu and other Board of Peace officials.
• Israel continues to insist that Hamas disarm before Israeli forces withdraw, while Hamas wants Israeli strikes halted and troops withdrawn as weapons are surrendered.

Trump Says Israel Should Stop Striking Gaza

US President Donald Trump has publicly urged Israel to stop carrying out strikes in Gaza, marking a disagreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump made the comments to Fox News on Monday as his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner met Netanyahu and other officials in Israel following direct talks with Hamas representatives in Egypt.

“Ultimately, they are giving up their guns,” Trump claimed, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

Trump’s remarks came after Netanyahu rejected a US proposal for the phased disarmament of Hamas last week.

Israel subsequently resumed near-daily attacks in Gaza following a brief pause, saying some of those targeted had participated in the October 7, 2023 operation.

Trump on Gaza:

Israelis should not be striking in Gaza.

Hamas agreed to lay down their weapons. pic.twitter.com/jrcqbPHodF

— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 17, 2026

Trump, however, argued that the strikes should not be taking place because Hamas had agreed to eventually surrender its weapons.

The US president said in late July that Hamas had accepted a 15-point roadmap under which the Palestinian movement would surrender its weapons to Palestinian authorities while Israeli troops gradually withdrew from Gaza.

The process has since stalled over the sequence of those steps.

Israel insists that Hamas must disarm before its forces withdraw, while Hamas wants Israeli attacks halted and troops withdrawn as it hands over its weapons.

Kushner Holds Direct Talks with Hamas

Kushner met Hamas officials on Sunday in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, according to people familiar with the discussions cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya participated in some of the meetings.

During the talks, Kushner reportedly pressed Hamas to begin transferring authority to a new Palestinian civilian governing body and take concrete steps toward decommissioning its weapons.

He assured Hamas that Israel would subsequently fulfill its own obligations under the plan, according to the report.

Kushner then traveled to Israel, where his meeting with Netanyahu and Board of Peace officials lasted more than three hours.

The parties agreed that Israeli forces would not redeploy from Gaza until Hamas surrendered its weapons and that Israel would retain the right to respond to what it considers security threats.

Gaza: Israel Kills Palestinian as Airstrikes, Shelling and Demolitions Continue

“Israel retains its full right of self-defense: If Hamas resorts to terror, violence or attempts to rearm, Israel will retain the right to act accordingly,” a Board of Peace official said.

That position, however, appears to preserve the central disagreement blocking implementation of the plan, since Hamas has demanded an end to Israeli attacks and a military withdrawal as part of the disarmament process.

​​Agreement ‘Will Not Be Reopened’

According to Quds News Network, the Hamas delegation told Kushner and Mladenov that the existing agreement was not open to renegotiation.

The movement reportedly stressed that it and other Palestinian factions had already submitted their position on the provisions contained in the agreement.

The issue now, Hamas argued, was obtaining Israel’s response to what had already been agreed.

TRUMP: "We have our own relationship with Hamas. They are giving up their guns."

Trump tells Fox News that the U.S. has “a different channel” with Hamas and that “Israel should not be striking Gaza right now” because Hamas is moving forward with the plan to lay down their… https://t.co/T1StjfS8TA pic.twitter.com/aKEcoZ4OKu

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) August 17, 2026

Sources summarized the Hamas position with a particularly categorical formulation: the agreement in its current form “will not be reopened.”

The position suggests that Hamas does not view the transition to the second phase as an opportunity to negotiate a substantially different framework, but as a question of implementing commitments already negotiated through the mediators.

Gaza Plan Remains Stalled

Trump’s plan began with an October ceasefire that halted the heaviest fighting and resulted in an exchange of the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza for nearly 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Subsequent negotiations, however, have stalled over Hamas’ weapons, Israeli troop withdrawals and the future administration of Gaza.

Israel briefly paused attacks in Gaza in early August following discussions between Israeli officials and Mladenov, but strikes have since intensified.

Approximately two million Palestinians remain in Gaza, most of whom have been displaced during the war. Large numbers continue to live in tents or damaged buildings and depend on humanitarian assistance.

The latest US proposal is intended to restart the stalled process by securing Hamas’ disarmament, transferring governing authority to a new Palestinian civilian body and beginning reconstruction.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, continues to insist that Hamas must cease to exist as an armed and governing force before the war can formally end.

The disagreement comes as Israel approaches elections scheduled for October, with Netanyahu facing domestic political pressure and declining support for his party in opinion polls.

(PC, Wall Street Journal)