Netanyahu Tells Kushner: No Gaza Withdrawal Until Hamas Disarms

Benjamin Netanyahu told Jared Kushner in a three-hour meeting on August 17, 2026, that there can be no progress on the stalled Gaza ceasefire deal or an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas first disarms, according to an Israeli official who said there was no breakthrough in the talks. The Guardian

The meeting, held in Israel, came a day after Kushner sat down with Hamas's political chief, Khalil al-Hayya, in Egypt on August 16. There, Hamas insisted that Israel must first withdraw its troops from the roughly 60% of the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces currently occupy. The Kushner-al-Hayya meeting was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity. Netanyahu has previously threatened to seize more territory beyond the 60% already under Israeli military control.

The Netanyahu-Kushner session took place one week after Netanyahu forcefully rejected the US-backed 15-point Gaza roadmap — a framework document outlining steps toward a ceasefire and reconstruction. An Israeli official said Netanyahu made clear during the meeting that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces, Israel's military) would not withdraw and would continue operations in Gaza. Netanyahu also requested that a US general supervise Hamas's handover of weapons.

A statement from Netanyahu's office said the two sides agreed to establish two working groups — small teams assigned to tackle specific issues — including one focused on the disarmament and demilitarisation of Gaza that must be completed before any reconstruction begins. Netanyahu and Kushner agreed that reconstruction would not start until Hamas was fully disarmed, including of light weapons, according to Reuters. A Board of Peace official described the meeting as "lengthy, in depth and very productive" and said the Israelis agreed to give the process a chance.

The Board of Peace is a self-styled mediation body assembled under the Trump administration. The meeting also included Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, both members of that board. Officials from the mediating countries Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey were present as well.

According to the Haaretz newspaper, the meeting ended with the US agreeing that Israel could continue striking Gaza. That apparent understanding contradicts a prior statement by Trump that Israel "should not be striking in Gaza."

On the Hamas side, an official said the group was committed to the process and waiting for mediators to begin the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation of the roadmap. The gap between the two parties' sequencing demands remains wide: Hamas wants Israeli withdrawal before disarmament; Netanyahu wants disarmament before any withdrawal or reconstruction.

The broader context here is a mediation architecture that has grown increasingly complex. Kushner's shuttle between Hamas's political leadership in Egypt and Netanyahu in Israel places him at the center of a channel that now formally includes the Board of Peace, three Arab mediators, and the two conflicting parties. Think of it as a table with too many chairs: each seat comes with its own set of demands and red lines. The working-group framework agreed in the meeting offers a procedural vehicle, but it is built on a foundational disagreement over sequencing that neither side has moved off.

The contradiction between Haaretz's reporting on continued Israeli strikes and Trump's earlier statement that Israel should not be striking in Gaza raises questions about whether the Board of Peace's public positioning and its private understandings with Israel are aligned. If they are not, mediators will face difficulty presenting a unified framework to Hamas. The 14-day negotiation period Hamas is awaiting has not yet begun, and no date for its commencement has been announced.

The insistence on including light weapons in the disarmament demand also sets a high bar. It would require Hamas to relinquish not just rockets and heavy munitions but the individual firearms that permeate the group's rank and file. Whether that scope is a negotiating position or a fixed precondition will shape whether the working groups produce anything actionable.

For regional actors, the stakes extend beyond Gaza's borders. Egypt is concerned with security along its border with Gaza and the movement of people through Rafah. Qatar has hosted Hamas leaders and channeled financial support to Gaza. Turkey has maintained ties with Hamas's political wing and has positioned itself as a mediator with access that Western governments lack. Their presence at the meeting signals that any agreement will need to satisfy not just Israel and Hamas but a broader set of regional actors with veto power over implementation.

The working groups may produce a framework document, but the core dispute over who moves first remains unresolved. Netanyahu's request for a US general to supervise disarmament suggests he is seeking a credible enforcement mechanism, not merely a commitment. Hamas's insistence on Israeli withdrawal first reflects an assessment that disarmament without a parallel exit of IDF forces would leave the group vulnerable. Neither position has shifted.