Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas’ political bureau, traveled to Cairo on Saturday evening for talks with Egyptian officials ahead of US envoy Jared Kushner's visit to the region, according to a Hamas source cited by AFP.
This marks al-Hayya's first visit to Egypt since assuming leadership of Hamas in late July. He is scheduled to meet with the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, Hassan Rashad, on Sunday morning.
Kushner is set to visit Israel and Egypt next week in an attempt to bridge differences over a Gaza plan rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Nikolai Mladenov, the top representative for Gaza affairs in President Donald Trump’s newly established "Peace Council," will accompany Kushner on the visit.
The 15-Point Plan
Netanyahu recently rejected a 15-point plan announced by Mladenov, in which Hamas agreed to hand over its weapons to a new Palestinian committee responsible for administering the Gaza Strip.
A "Peace Council" official stated that Kushner and Mladenov hope to engage in "constructive talks" regarding advancing Trump’s broader peace initiative, which commenced with a ceasefire announcement in October 2025 that reduced Israeli strikes on Gaza, though without fully ending them.
The final phase of the Gaza plan agreed upon by Hamas in late July involves Israel's gradual withdrawal from large parts of the Gaza Strip, according to a preliminary version released by the Peace Council.
However, Mladenov later revised his stance, indicating that Israel would not be obligated to commit to anything before Hamas relinquishes all its weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles.
Netanyahu stated that the Israeli military would not carry out any withdrawal, expressing skepticism that Hamas would disarm and emphasizing the need to decommission weapons in a verifiable manner.
Meanwhile, Hamas remains committed to the agreement. A member of the group's political bureau, Basem Naim, told AFP, "We expect the American mediator and guarantors to pressure Netanyahu and his government to adhere to the roadmap."