US official held meetings with Hamas as Washington presents Gaza demands to Israel

A senior official in US President Donald Trump’s administration held meetings in recent months with senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya as part of talks on the proposed disarmament of Gaza, according to an Israeli media report published on Monday.

The report came as another report said Washington has delivered a document of demands to Israel regarding arrangements for the Gaza Strip. The document includes steps related to infrastructure, governance, border crossings, and reconstruction, amid US pressure to prevent a resumption of the war.

According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11, the US official was Aryeh Lightstone, an adviser to US envoy Steve Witkoff and a member of Trump’s Board of Peace.

The broadcaster said the meetings took place during discussions on what Washington and Tel Aviv describe as a process to dismantle Hamas’s military capabilities, adding that Israel was aware of the contacts.

It also reported that Witkoff had previously met al-Hayya directly during negotiations aimed at ending the war and securing the release of all Israeli hostages.

 According to an informed source quoted by the broadcaster, Lightstone’s meetings were part of a track led by Nikolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza to the Board of Peace, concerning arrangements proposed under Trump’s plan.

Israeli sources quoted by Kan 11 said Hamas has adopted a tougher position in the current negotiations and that the discussions have “largely moved backwards”. They said the talks are now focused on defining what constitutes heavy and light weapons as part of efforts to disarm Gaza.

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