Jared Kushner meets Hamas chief on Gaza road map, to meet Netanyahu next

Kushner will also meet Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed Gaza road map

US negotiator and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday in a fresh diplomatic push to advance the stalled Gaza ceasefire.

Kushner will meet Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed Gaza road map -- on Monday.

The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from Palestine territory.

At stake are lives of some two million people in Gaza and reconstruction of the crowded enclave now largely controlled by Israel forces, more than 10 months since the ceasefire ended major military operations.

A meeting between Kushner, fellow envoy Steve Witkoff and Hamas leaders in Egypt last year helped clinch the ceasefire, whose progress until now had been stalled over the key issue of Hamas' disarmament.

The more than two-hour meeting in Egypt with Hamas' Khalil al-Hayya was confirmed by a regional official and a Hamas official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to reporters.

Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also present.

Hamas in a statement later called on mediators and the US-created Board of Peace overseeing the ceasefire to "compel" Israel to approve the road map for next steps.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week rejected the 15-point plan in a rare public show of defiance against the Trump administration, Israel's closest ally.

Kushner, former British prime minister Tony Blair, and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov are to meet with Netanyahu Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source -- both speaking on condition of anonymity.

Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have issued a statement condemning Israel's rejection of the road map, saying that "Israel now bears responsibility for obstructing the efforts to bring peace in Gaza." Other signers include Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and ceasefire mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

The foreign ministers' statement called on the Board of Peace and the US to take "immediate and concrete measures" to keep any party from obstructing the plan's implementation.

Kushner's meeting with the Hamas leader is aimed at ensuring the group's commitment to the road map, particularly disarmament, before his meeting with Netanyahu, the regional official said.