Hamas leader heads to Cairo for Gaza talks ahead of Kushner visit

Khalil al-Hayya, the political leader and chief negotiator of Hamas, traveled to Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian officials, according to Hamas sources. This is his first visit to Egypt since assuming Hamas's leadership in late July. He is expected to meet Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad on Sunday morning. The visit comes ahead of a planned Middle East trip by Jared Kushner, the US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law, who will travel to Israel and Egypt next week to narrow differences over a Gaza plan. Kushner will be accompanied by Nickolay Mladenov, the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza. The trip follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public rejection of a 15-point plan under which Hamas had agreed to hand its weapons to a new Palestinian governing committee. Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim told AFP on Friday that they await pressure from mediators and the US side on Netanyahu to compel him to abide by the roadmap. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks have continued in Gaza. On Saturday, Israeli fire killed two Palestinians and wounded 14 others after the military carried out air strikes, artillery shelling, and demolitions in different parts of the strip, according to the territory's Ministry of Health. More than 1,250 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire took effect in October last year, with the overall death toll since October 2023 exceeding 73,300. Netanyahu formally rejected the Board of Peace plan last Sunday, saying Israeli forces will not carry out any withdrawal until Hamas is genuinely disarmed. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said this week that troops would also remain in occupied security zones in Lebanon and Syria, declaring a continued Israeli military presence across all three fronts.