Cairo, Aug 17: US negotiator and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner held a rare meeting with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya on Sunday in a fresh diplomatic push to advance the stalled Gaza ceasefire.

Kushner will meet Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is under pressure after rejecting the new 15-point, US-backed Gaza road map — on Monday.

The talks aim to salvage the plan for Hamas to disarm and Israel to withdraw from Palestine territory.

At stake are lives of some two million people in Gaza and reconstruction of the crowded enclave now largely controlled by Israel 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 authorised 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 present.

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

Israel 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 Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov are to meet with Netanyahu Monday, according to a source familiar with the plans and a diplomatic source — both speaking on condition of anonymity.

Regional powers accuse Israel of obstructing peace efforts

Several regional powers including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have 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 include Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia and ceasefire mediators Egypt, Qatar and Turkey.

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

Kushner’s meeting with the Hamas leader is aimed at ensuring the 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 chief has 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. Israel forces have moved beyond it and now control about 60 per cent of Gaza.

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

White House has not commented on talks

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 either.

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 centre-left party leader Yair Golan “will give them everything they want. That will not happen.”

Ruteng, Aug 17: A day after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted eastern Indonesia, rescue teams recovered six more bodies Sunday, raising the death toll to 53, while many of the thousands displaced spent the night outdoors in fear of aftershocks.

Rescuers dug through debris looking for anyone buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in the Muslim-majority country. They focused on three regencies that remained inaccessible — hardest-hit Manggarai, East Manggarai and Nagekeo.

“We have cleared most landslides and reopened roads to previously isolated villages, although communication disruptions and power outages continue to hamper search efforts,” said Fathur Rahman, head of the search-and-rescue office in Maumere, the capital of Sikka regency.

More than 900 homes were destroyed and 450 more damaged in East Nusa Tenggara province, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters. At least 241 homes were damaged in the Flores region alone, said Abdul Muhari, the National Disaster Management Agency’s chief for disaster prevention.

The quake occurred at a depth of 10 km shortly before 6 am local time Saturday, the US Geological Survey said. Residents fled in panic as tsunami warnings were issued and later lifted.

Authorities have since recorded at least 995 aftershocks, but only 46 were felt by residents, Muhari said, adding that 135 people were injured.

Many residents at Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia’s best-known tourist destinations, spent the night outside because of the aftershocks.

“The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed,” said farmer Anastasia Imad, speaking from a makeshift tent beside her damaged home. “We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept.”

Landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-km road linking communities across the mountainous island.

Relief workers distributed rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications, as well as delivering aid to remote villages isolated by landslides, were among the biggest challenges.

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.

Flores has experienced some of the country’s deadliest disasters. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1992 killed about 2,500 people on the island.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on the island of Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

New Delhi, Aug 16: Israel has intensified its military operations in southern Lebanon, killing at least 11 people in what Al Jazeera described as the deadliest attacks since a US-brokered ceasefire framework was agreed in June, while tensions between Iran and the United States remain high over the Strait of Hormuz and the future of negotiations.

Israeli forces continued to bombard southern Lebanon on Saturday, with explosions reported near Ali al-Taher Heights following a series of attacks that left at least 11 people dead. In an overnight Israeli strike hit a family home in Ansar in southern Lebanon, killing at least seven people, including children, according to Al Jazeera.

The latest attacks have raised fresh concerns about the durability of the US-brokered ceasefire framework reached between Israel and Lebanon in June. Lebanese and Iranian authorities have condemned the strikes, while the Arab League described the escalation as a serious threat to efforts to resolve the conflict. An Arab League spokesperson said the attacks could undermine attempts to end the fighting and accused Israel of seeking to prolong the confrontation and impose a new reality on the ground.

The Arab League also called on the international community, particularly Washington, to restrain Israel and ensure compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Adopted in 2006, the resolution calls for an end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and requires the cessation of attacks by Hezbollah and offensive military operations by Israel.

The US State Department, however, told Al Jazeera that Hezbollah bears responsibility for the continued presence of Israeli forces on Lebanese territory. The US official described Hezbollah as the principal obstacle to Lebanon’s economic recovery and said a proposed “pilot zone” arrangement remained the most viable route towards peace. Under the arrangement, Israeli forces would withdraw from certain areas while Lebanese troops would move into them.

The latest violence comes amid continuing uncertainty over whether the June ceasefire framework can hold as Israel maintains military positions and carries out strikes in parts of southern Lebanon.

The escalation also comes against a wider regional backdrop, with Yemen’s Houthis launching another ballistic missile towards the government-held city of Marib, according to local officials, while Syrian civil defence teams dealt with a fire reportedly caused by Israeli forces firing flares in the town of al-Rafid. Meanwhile, Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya is expected to travel to Cairo for talks aimed at consolidating the Gaza ceasefire.

Iran-US standoff deepens as Tehran links Hormuz reopening to US actions

On the Iran-US front, the immediate focus remains on the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran says it is continuing discussions with Oman on possible new shipping routes. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Muscat could reach an agreement soon on a new route through the waterway. But he stressed that reaching an agreement on shipping routes and reopening the Strait of Hormuz were “two separate issues”, according to Al Jazeera.

Araghchi said reopening the waterway would depend on Washington fulfilling conditions under a memorandum of understanding signed in June. Among Tehran’s demands are an end to US sanctions and the release of Iranian assets, he said.

“Iran’s foreign minister said that Tehran and Oman ‘may reach an outcome soon’ on a new route in the Strait of Hormuz,” Al Jazeera reported. However, Araghchi made clear that any decision to reopen the waterway would depend on the fulfilment of wider conditions by the United States. The comments underline the distance that remains between Tehran and Washington despite diplomatic messages being exchanged through intermediaries.

Araghchi said on Friday that no decision had been taken on returning to direct talks with the United States. Qatar and Pakistan, meanwhile, have been exchanging messages between the two sides in an effort to keep diplomatic channels open.

The standoff has been further complicated by US President Donald Trump’s comments on the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has said that after what he described as defeating Iran, he would declare the strategic waterway US territory.

Tehran responded sharply, saying on X that the Strait of Hormuz “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian”.

US officials, meanwhile, have indicated that Washington could maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely and impose additional economic measures on Tehran. The Trump administration has increasingly signalled that it would prefer economic pressure to launching another major military offensive.

For Iran, however, the reopening of the Strait remains tied to broader political and economic demands. The waterway is crucial to global energy supplies, making the dispute over its status and shipping routes a major international concern.

The developments also highlight the fragile nature of the wider regional situation. While diplomatic efforts involving Oman and other intermediaries continue, the continuing violence in Lebanon and the unresolved confrontation between Iran and the US leave the region facing the risk of another escalation.