Kushner has a rare meeting with Hamas' leader on the Gaza road map. A meeting with Netanyahu is next

CAIRO (AP) — U.S. negotiator and President Donald Trump 's son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with the Hamas chief on Sunday in a new diplomatic effort to make progress in the stalled Gaza ceasefire. Kushner will meet on Monday with Israel's prime minister, who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, U.S.-backed road map.

The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territory shattered by war.

At stake are the lives of some 2 million people in Gaza and reconstruction of the crowded enclave now largely controlled by Israeli 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 authorized 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 there.

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

Israeli 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 the Board of Peace director, Nickolay Mladenov, are to meet with Netanyahu on Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.

Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates 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 included Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and the ceasefire mediators.

The foreign ministers' statement called on the Board of Peace and the U.S. to take “immediate and concrete measures” to keep any party from obstructing the plan’s implementation.

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

The Hamas official said the group is committed and waiting for mediators to start the 14-day negotiation period to work out a timetable for implementation. That period requires all parties' approval of the road map to begin.

The Hamas official also said the Hamas leader demanded that Israel halt its attacks on Gaza and withdraw to the so-called “yellow line” dividing the territory before beginning implementation. The yellow line was never precisely defined. Israeli forces have moved beyond it and now control about 60% of Gaza.

In May, Netanyahu said the next step was to move to 70% control, with Israel “tightening the grip” on Hamas “from every direction.”

The White House referred questions about Kushner's meetings to the Board of Peace, which did not immediately comment. The Tony Blair Institute did not comment.

Under the road map, Hamas would hand over weapons to the Palestinian technocratic committee meant to oversee daily operations in the territory. The committee has not yet entered Gaza. But Hamas has linked the surrender of its heaviest weapons to the creation of a Palestinian state, something Israel’s current government rejects.

The road map involves Hamas gradually giving up its weapons while Israeli forces halt attacks and begin withdrawing from Gaza. But Netanyahu says Israel will not retreat from any position in Gaza until Hamas has been completely disarmed.

That stance leaves other elements of the ceasefire, including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces to separate Israeli forces from committee-controlled areas, on hold.

Netanyahu faces a challenging election on Oct. 27 as he tries to hold on to power with a coalition that includes ministers taking a harsh line on Gaza, and it's not clear whether he will take decisive steps on the ceasefire before then. Also coming up is the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war.

Netanyahu's Likud party on Sunday responded to the statement by regional powers by claiming that “Arab states want to topple” Netanyahu so that centrist challenger Gadi Eisenkot and center-left party leader Yair Golan "will give them everything they want. That will not happen.”

Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Anna from Lowville, New York. Collin Binkley in Washington and Sylvia Hui in London contributed.

A Palestinian salesman shows an iPhone 17 Pro Max to the camera at a mobile phone store in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian vendor offers bottles of diesel for sale in al-Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

FILE - Jared Kushner waits to walk into the ring after the lightweight championship bout at UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, June 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Palestinians remove iron from the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, repair and recycle it for construction, building tents or selling it, in Gaza City, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday after its eyewall skirted Hawaii without making landfall, but it continued to punish the state with hurricane-force gusts and pounding rain, reaching a total of nearly three feet (one meter) in places and sending raging torrents down mountainsides.

A search-and-rescue mission including Civil Defense, the National Guard and a Coast Guard helicopter was launched after flash floods apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu, near the Big Island's southern tip, authorities said.

“What makes this very challenging is that there’s rushing water, there’s debris, and there’s boulders on the road and it’s dark,” Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said early Sunday.

At least one person died in a vehicle wreck in the South Point area of the Big Island, Gov. Josh Green said Saturday.

Honolulu was bearing the brunt of Sunday morning’s weather as tropical storm conditions spread westward across the island chain. Honolulu Fire Department had launched dozens of weather-related responses by 2 a.m. local time Sunday, including 58 reports of downed trees, 39 blown roofs, 12 downed power lines, 12 arcing-wire situations and one swimmer rescue, according to a statement from the city.

Much of the state remained under a flash flood warning, though the Big Island was downgraded to a flood advisory Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. Heavy rain, mudslides, downed trees, active flooding and downed power lines were among the biggest threats, weather service meteorologist Stephen Parker said.

“Basically, the best thing to do right now is just stay home for a bit longer,” he said. “The storm won’t last forever and once those kind of threats get cleaned up, it will be safe to be out and about again.”

Fewer than 60,000 homes and businesses were without power by 9:30 a.m. local time, down from more than 200,000 just a few hours earlier, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, the governor said.

Powerful waves pounded the Big Island’s coast as Lala slowly passed by. Just missing landfall, the eyewall didn't weaken, and its winds pounded the mountainsides. Waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff as bands of rain blew nearly sideways.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau, raising the possibility of destructive flooding and even wildfires kicked up by strong winds on the drier sides of the islands.

The heaviest rain Sunday morning was falling on Lanai, Moloka’i and Oahu, while the highest winds were gusts over 100 mph (161 kph) at the towering Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island, Parker said.

As of 8 a.m. Sunday in Hawaii, Lala was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Honolulu with reports of wind gusts of nearly 70 mph (112 kph) in Kaneohe on Oahu, National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in an update. He said the storm was moving northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph), and conditions across Kauai were expected to deteriorate during the day.

Forecasters expect Lala to regain hurricane strength midweek once it's well west of the island chain.

Some higher-altitude places on the Big Island, dominated by Mauna Kea, have been hit with as much as 35 inches (89 centimeters) of rain. That's enough to loosen steep slopes where some of the 210,000 islanders live off the grid in improvised housing.

As the hurricane approached, shelters were opened, events were canceled and ranchers were urged to leave their cattle in pastures rather than structures that might collapse. Many residents are still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods in March and were taking precautions.

Kate McLellan, a resident on Oahu’s North Shore, was still waiting for the worst of the storm to strike after her power went out Sunday morning. She was glued to the weather network, monitoring the Lala's progress.

In March and April, her community was hit by back-to-back storms that moved slowly, leading to a couple weeks of heavy rain and high winds that kept residents on high alert. Memories of that storm were "giving that same uncertainty and hesitation and panic and anxiety,” McLellan said.

The state’s preparation and communication during the storm has been better than in the past, she said. Before the storm hit, she saw crews trimming trees that were close to power lines and digging out passages to streams leading to the ocean.

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed.

This NOAA satellite image taken at 3:50 PM ET (EDT) on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Lala over Hawaii. (NOAA via AP)

The entrance to Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park, temporarily closed due to Hurricane Lala, is seen in Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Tropical Storm Lala over the Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (NOAA via AP)

A resident carries supplies to a vehicle during Hurricane Lala in Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A vehicle drives near a downed utility pole dangling above Mamalahoa Highway during Hurricane Lala near Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

A view of the rising water levels at the Wainaku Street Bridge in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Taylor Cozloff/Civil Beat via AP)

A resident carries supplies during Hurricane Lala in Hawaiian Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)