Serdar Dincel, Rania Abushamala and Yasin Gungor
16 August 2026•Update: 16 August 2026
A high-level delegation from Palestinian group Hamas arrived in Cairo on Sunday and held talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad to discuss the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel said the meeting addressed ways to complete the implementation of US President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza.
Hamas praised Egyptian efforts to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and reaffirmed its commitment to Trump’s plan to alleviate the suffering of the territory’s population and start reconstruction, the broadcaster said.
In a statement, the Palestinian group said its delegation reviewed the overall political and field developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including daily Israeli violations and Israel’s “reneging on the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and President Donald Trump’s plan, as well as its declared rejection of the roadmap.”
The delegation also addressed Israeli violations against Palestinian prisoners, the statement said, describing Israel’s actions as “a dangerous, destructive policy that requires attention at both the regional and international levels.”
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said early Sunday that the talks in Egypt aim to brief mediators on Israel's violations and ensure Tel Aviv's adherence to the Gaza roadmap. The Hamas delegation is led by group leader Khalil al-Hayya.
Separately, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the northern city of New Alamein, according to a presidency statement.
The two sides discussed developments in the Palestinian territories and the Middle East, with Sisi stressing the need for all parties to fulfill their obligations under the Gaza agreement, the statement said.
Sisi also emphasized the “need to resolve the various crises in the region to preserve regional stability,” it added.
Kushner meets Hamas leadership
Kushner also held discussions with senior Hamas officials, marking the first such encounter since last October, Axios reported. Citing sources, Axios reported that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace’s high representative for Gaza, also joined the meeting.
The meeting, which also involved Turkish, Egyptian and Qatari officials, focused on converting commitments into verifiable operational steps.
Kushner is scheduled to travel to Israel on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In October 2023, the Israeli army launched a deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip that has killed over 73,000 and wounded more than 174,000 others.
Despite a truce that has remained in place since October 2025, the army has continued its attacks in the Palestinian enclave, killing at least 1,260 and injuring over 4,100 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
