American intelligence officials received clear evidence indicating that factions within Hamas are planning to evade their commitment to full disarmament during ongoing peace negotiations in Cairo. Following these intelligence reports, US Special Envoy Jared Kushner delivered an explicit warning to senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya in front of international mediators, demanding a complete commitment to disarm, surrender governance of Gaza, and halt military expansion.
The high stakes meeting in Egypt represents a major effort by the Peace Council to prevent a return to previous security dynamics in the region. Two sources present during the negotiations confirmed that Kushner confronted the Hamas delegation directly regarding implementation metrics. "The test will be in implementation, and if you try to cheat, the process will stop and no one will stand in Israel's way," Kushner told the Hamas leadership.
Kushner emphasized that Israeli authorities maintain severe doubts regarding Hamas's intentions, making strict verification essential. Peace Council representatives noted that Kushner organized the direct meeting to prevent Israel from facing international political isolation while ensuring terrorists are not allowed to remain armed. According to council officials, the current diplomatic framework ensures that if Israel abides by the agreement while Hamas fails to uphold its obligations, Israel will receive total international backing to eliminate the threat.
Members of the Peace Council reiterated that maintaining the status quo of an armed terrorist entity in Gaza remains unacceptable. "If Israel acts wisely, we will know very soon whether Hamas will fulfill the commitment it gave to the Peace Council," a council representative stated. "If so, this will be the removal of a very significant threat and a great achievement, and if not, Israel will have the international legitimacy and support to deal with the threat as it needs."
Peace Council officials warned that if Israel appears to derail the framework, it risks losing the international political backing needed to change the situation on the ground. In response to Kushner's warnings, Hamas leaders explicitly committed before all regional mediators to fully implement every provision of the 20 point plan, including all specific clauses requiring complete demilitarization and disarmament.
