Hamas leaders told White House adviser Jared Kushner during a meeting in Egypt on Sunday that the terror group remains committed to giving up its weapons and demilitarizing Gaza, as the Trump administration presses ahead with the next stage of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, according to an Axios report.

Kushner spent approximately 90 minutes meeting directly with senior Hamas officials, pressing them to demonstrate that their stated willingness to disarm will translate into concrete action. He also warned them that Israel remains deeply distrustful of Hamas and is not convinced the terror group will actually surrender its weapons.

A source familiar with the discussions characterized the meeting as “very productive” and said Hamas officials asked Kushner to personally convey to President Trump that they continue to stand behind their commitment to disarm.

“We thanked them for the commitment, but we want to see real efforts and not just words,” the source told Axios. “It was important for Kushner to lock them into this commitment in person.”

The talks took place as the Trump administration and its Board of Peace work to advance Israel and Hamas into the next stage of Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.

Kushner told the Hamas delegation that disarmament is not open to negotiation and stressed that Washington would need to see meaningful steps on the ground before it could push Israel to carry out corresponding measures of its own.

“Kushner stressed to Hamas leaders that the bar is high because the Israeli side doesn’t trust them to actually disarm,” the source said.

Under the plan, Hamas would be required to relinquish control of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic government, give up its weapons and military infrastructure, and remain entirely outside the territory’s future governing structure.

According to the report, Hamas representatives told Kushner that they are willing to hand over governing authority and would refrain from interfering with the new technocratic government once it begins functioning.

Hamas officials also raised complaints about ongoing Israeli strikes and other Israeli military activity inside Gaza. Kushner responded by pointing out that Hamas itself had taken four months to agree to disarm, according to the source.

During the meeting, Kushner expressed appreciation to Hamas for cooperating in efforts to recover the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages. Hamas representatives, in turn, thanked the Trump administration and the Board of Peace for their work aimed at improving humanitarian conditions inside Gaza.

Following the talks, Hamas announced that it had agreed to a road map for implementing the second phase of Trump’s plan. The group said that stage would include a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, continued humanitarian assistance and the beginning of reconstruction. Notably, Hamas made no explicit reference to disarmament in its public statement.

The Board of Peace is seeking to have Hamas begin dismantling its weapons stockpiles and military infrastructure. If that process moves forward, Israel could then be asked to permit the deployment of an International Stabilization Force inside Gaza, allow reconstruction efforts to begin in the Rafah area and enter discussions over initial IDF troop withdrawals.

“There can be no ambiguity: Hamas must relinquish governing authority and all weapons and military infrastructure,” the source said. “And Gaza can never again be a source of terror for Israel.”

Kushner is expected to travel to Israel on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu regarding the “corresponding steps” Israel would be expected to implement if Hamas begins carrying out its commitment to disarm.

Sunday’s talks marked Kushner’s first face-to-face meeting with Hamas leaders since the Gaza agreement was reached in October.

Kushner was joined at the meeting by Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and senior advisers Aryeh Lightstone and Liran Tancman.

The Hamas delegation included the terror group’s political leader Khalil al-Hayya. Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi and a senior Turkish official also participated in the meeting, according to the report.

{Matzav.com}