by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner have reached an understanding that Hamas must be fully disarmed and the Gaza Strip demilitarized before reconstruction begins or Israeli forces withdraw, marking a significant narrowing of differences between Jerusalem and the Trump administration over the future of Gaza.
Netanyahu and Kushner met for nearly four hours in Jerusalem on Monday, with representatives of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-backed Board of Peace later joining the discussions. Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office described the talks as “deep and constructive.”
The two sides agreed to establish a working group focused specifically on the disarmament of Hamas and the broader demilitarization of Gaza. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, that process is to be completed before reconstruction begins. A second working group will address sanitation, clean water and other public-health concerns inside Gaza.
More significantly for Israel, the Board of Peace said Israeli forces would not redeploy out of Gaza until Hamas had been completely disarmed and the territory demilitarized—including the removal of both light and heavy weapons and the dismantling of Hamas’s extensive tunnel network.
Kushner told Fox News following the meeting that the United States would not support rebuilding Gaza while Hamas remains armed.
“We have a plan to rebuild Gaza, but we will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt until the demilitarization occurs,” Kushner said, according to The Epoch Times. Israeli withdrawal, he added, would be discussed only after Hamas was brought into full compliance and demilitarization had been completed.
Disarmament Could Begin Within 30 Days
Kushner expressed optimism that tangible progress could come quickly, saying weapons could begin to be removed within 30 days and Hamas tunnels could begin being filled in during the following 60 to 90 days.
Israeli media reports cited by All Israel News said a U.S. general would oversee the decommissioning process, while weapons surrendered by Hamas would be transferred to warehouses controlled by Gaza’s new technocratic administration.
The agreement follows days of intense diplomacy. Kushner met Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya and other representatives in Egypt before traveling to Jerusalem, as Washington attempts to advance a 15-point roadmap connected to Trump’s broader plan for Gaza.
Hamas has previously sought to make its disarmament conditional upon Israeli withdrawal—a sequencing Israel has rejected. The new understanding between Netanyahu and Kushner effectively embraces Israel’s position that disarmament must come first.
The Board of Peace also affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself if Hamas resumes terrorism, violence or attempts to rearm, although differences reportedly remain over Israel’s policy of targeted strikes against terrorist commanders.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Nuclear material has been discovered in Syria and placed under International Atomic Energy Agency oversight, reviving attention on a clandestine nuclear program that Israel destroyed nearly two decades ago.
A prominent house church pastor and six other Christians have disappeared after being detained by police in Wenzhou, a major Christian center in eastern China often called the “Jerusalem of China.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner have reached an understanding that Hamas must be fully disarmed and the Gaza Strip demilitarized before reconstruction begins or Israeli forces withdraw, marking a significant narrowing of differences between Jerusalem and the Trump administration over the future of Gaza.
Humanoid robots capable of navigating rugged terrain, detecting people and conducting around-the-clock surveillance could eventually join U.S. Border Patrol operations along the southern border, as an American robotics company moves closer to potential national-security deployments.
Israel carried out an unusual airstrike deep inside northwestern Syria early Tuesday, targeting the strategic Abu al-Duhur military airfield shortly after a Turkish military delegation reportedly visited the base to assess its rehabilitation, according to Israeli and Syrian reports. The operation prompted a rare public rebuke from a senior U.S. envoy.
Newly declassified FBI records released by the White House detail what officials describe as a years-long Chinese intelligence effort to penetrate American political circles through sexual relationships, campaign donations, and strategically placed interns.
President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace is considering a significant overhaul of its Gaza disarmament framework after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan that would have linked Hamas weapons handovers to phased Israeli troop withdrawals, according to an exclusive report by The Times of Israel.