Kushner has hourslong meeting with Netanyahu on Gaza a day after talking with Hamas

JERUSALEM (AP) — Mideast negotiator Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, held an hourslong meeting Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, days after the premier rejected the 15-point, U.S.-backed road map to move the ceasefire deal forward in Gaza.

The meeting comes a day after Kushner met for two hours with the Hamas leader in Egypt, as the U.S. presses for Israel’s approval of the road map. There is a lot at stake, including the lives of some 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, reconstruction of the war-demolished enclave and future control over it.

Hamas says it has agreed to the road map, which includes disarmament, and the group is urging mediators and the U.S.-created Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to sign on. But Israel, which under the road map must gradually withdraw from Gaza, says Hamas must fully disarm before any withdrawal.

Israeli troops occupy about 60% of the strip, and Netanyahu has previously threatened to control more.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace Director Nickolay Mladenov were also in the meeting with Netanyahu, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting.

Netanyahu's office said in a statement that he and the board had agreed to establish two working groups — one on the disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza and another focused on public health issues for Gaza. Israel and the board agreed that the demilitarization “should be prompt and completed before any reconstruction," the statement said.

Kushner met Sunday with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya in Cairo on disarmament, according to a regional official and a Hamas official, who both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also were there.

The Hamas official 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.”

Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates issued a statement Sunday condemning Israel’s rejection of the road map. They said 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.

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

While some in Gaza hope that efforts to implement the road map will bring an end to the war sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, others remained skeptical.

Mohammad Abu al-Qombuz cast doubt on all talks and visits currently taking place.

“A conference here and there, it is all lies. We need a definitive solution that would work for everybody,” said Abu al-Qombuz, who lives in a Gaza City tent camp, part of the territory's vast displaced population.

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, and the road map entails the creation of a “credible pathway toward achieving Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” something Israel’s current government rejects.

Until the road map is agreed to, other elements of the ceasefire are on hold, including reconstruction and the deployment of international forces to separate Israeli forces from committee-controlled areas.

Netanyahu faces a challenging election on Oct. 27 as he tries to hold onto 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 2023 attack.

Frankel reported from Jerusalem, Magdy from Cairo and Shurafa from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Collin Binkley in Washington and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

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)

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)

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)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Opening statements began Monday in the trial of a man accused of orchestrating the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, the start of weeks of testimony revisiting what happened on a Las Vegas night nearly 30 years ago.

Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 63, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang in Shakur's death. He pleaded not guilty, but if convicted, faces life in prison.

Davis entered the courtroom in a blue suit and tie and scanned the audience to see who was there before sitting next to his lawyer Michael Sanft once the jury was sworn in and seated.

Members of Shakur’s family, including his stepbrother Maurice “Mopreme” Shakur, sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom behind prosecutors.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal showed jurors a picture of the Mike Tyson fight with the date “September 7, 1996” and showed video of Shakur’s entourage attacking Davis’ nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson.

“Let’s be clear, Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But he did plan the shooting in retaliation of the beating of his nephew, Palal said. “Remarkably, you will learn that from Duane Davis himself."

The long-unsolved drive-by shooting gripped the hip-hop community, partly because no one was charged until Davis was indicted in 2023.

Shakur remains a cultural icon and is considered one of the most influential and versatile rappers of all time, despite dying at 25. He was nominated for six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

In recent years, he received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, had a street in Oakland named in his honor and inspired a character in the upcoming video game "Stranger than Heaven.”

A few fans lined up early Monday for a coveted seat in the courthouse to watch the first day of testimony. Din Malone took a bus from Denver and hopes to stay for the entire trial.

“As a brother and a fan, I felt like he talked through his music,” said Malone, who wore a Tupac shirt and played Shakur’s music from his phone while waiting to get inside.

Over the course of the trial, which could span weeks, prosecutors plan to call 35 to 45 potential witnesses, and the defense will call only a handful to testify.

Maurice Shakur recently told The Associated Press that sitting through the trial will be retraumatizing for the family, but it's important to be there.

“We’re gonna stand by Pac as we always have,” he said.

Along with Shakur's family, friends and fans traveled to Las Vegas to show their support during jury selection.

Darryl Harper, a veteran music producer who collaborated with Shakur at Death Row Records on songs released after the 1996 shooting, said he booked a plane ticket as soon as the latest trial date was set.

“He became a personal friend of mine as I worked with him almost every day of his last days here,” said Harper, who flew in from his home in Georgia.

Shakur's cousins Kendrick Lesane and William Lesane flew in from Atlanta last week. William Lesane said he wants someone held accountable.

“For me, justice has long left the station 30 years ago,” he said.

The gunfire that killed Shakur came from a white Cadillac that Davis was riding in with three others, all who have since died.

In 2008, Davis spoke to investigators looking into the deaths of Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace. During the investigation, Davis was under an agreement that what he said about Shakur's killing couldn't be used against him. But nearly 10 years later, Davis published a book with those details and participated in media interviews in which he laid out his role in the shooting.

The book and his public statements revived the Las Vegas investigation and became key pieces of evidence, prosecutors say.

"Had he decided to never write the book, he would not, probably, have ever been prosecuted for the crime,” prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo recently said.

Sanft says Davis co-authored the book “Compton Street Legend” to make money, not to tell the truth. He argues it's impossible to tell which parts — if any — Davis wrote and which parts author Yusuf Jah penned.

Jah, who is on the list of potential witnesses, recently told an investigator he didn't believe Davis fully read his own book, according to court documents.

Prosecutors say the book is sensationalized but that they'll show “what is true, what is exaggeration, and what is an outright lie,” they wrote in court documents.

Associated Press journalists Ty ONeil in Las Vegas and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

People walk from the Regional Justice Center ahead of opening statements in the murder trial of Duane Davis, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Duane Davis enters the courtroom after a break in the third day of jury selection in his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)

Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal questions a prospective juror during the third day of jury selection in Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)

Chief Deputy District Attorneys Marc DiGiacomo, left, and Binu Palal confer during the third day of jury selection in the Duane Davis murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)

Duane Davis appears in court during the third day of jury selection in his murder trial, related to the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, at Clark County District Court Regional Justice Center on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP, Pool)