Hamas, US Envoy Set for Istanbul Talks on Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya in Istanbul on Wednesday to advance the next stage of the Gaza plan, with talks set to focus on reconstruction, “Israeli” withdrawal, political arrangements, and Hamas disarmament.

Hamas leaders are traveling to Turkey to hear details of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza initiative and to outline their own positions, the group told Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

The upcoming meeting follows the UN Security Council’s [UNSC] approval of Trump’s proposed roadmap for Gaza, which includes the deployment of an international stabilization force [ISF] to oversee the transition period. Hamas swiftly condemned the vote, saying it imposed “an international trusteeship on the Gaza Strip that Palestinians and resistance factions oppose”.

According to regional media, the agenda in Istanbul is expected to cover reconstruction efforts, a complete pullout of "Israeli" forces, and discussions on forming a new governing authority in Gaza.

Witkoff is also set to press for the disarmament of Hamas, a point that remains one of the most contentious elements of the plan. In its statement responding to the UN decision, Hamas reiterated that it rejects “any clause relating to disarming Gaza”, putting immediate pressure on the proposed stabilization force.

This week’s meeting marks Witkoff’s second encounter with Hayya. Their previous summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in October produced Hamas’s agreement to a ceasefire, the first phase of the broader Gaza deal.

During those talks, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, former senior adviser and Trump’s son-in-law, assured Hamas officials that Washington would ensure "Israel" upheld its obligations. Afterward, Witkoff said he had developed a personal connection with Hayya due to their shared experience of losing sons.

Witkoff’s son Andrew died at age 22 from an opioid overdose, while Hayya’s son, Himam al-Hayya, was killed in an "Israeli" strike on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha on September 9. Qatar used the incident to press Hamas to re-engage diplomatically.

“When Steve and [Hayya] spoke about their sons, it turned from a negotiation with a terrorist group to seeing two human beings’ kind of showing a vulnerability with each other,” Kushner told CBS’s 60 Minutes.

Despite claims from US and Qatari officials that Hamas had pledged to disarm after the Sharm el-Sheikh meeting, the group has repeatedly denied making any such commitment.

News of the Istanbul talks emerged as "Israel" announced that it had struck what it described as a Hamas facility in southern Lebanon, claiming lives of 13 people. Hamas denied having any military infrastructure in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, calling the "Israeli" assertions “lies”.

Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed “13 dead and a number of others wounded”, noting that emergency crews were still transporting casualties to nearby hospitals.

The Lebanese National News Agency said the strike initially hit a vehicle near the Khalid bin al-Walid mosque before reports indicated that the mosque itself and a nearby center carrying the same name had also been targeted.

The "Israeli" military released video footage of the strike, claiming it struck a Hamas training compound in the Ain al-Hilweh area in southern Lebanon”, saying it was “operating against Hamas’s establishment in Lebanon”.