As reported by Reuters, and carried by The Nightly and The Straits Times, envoys from US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” met representatives of Hamas in Cairo over the weekend in an effort to safeguard the Gaza Strip ceasefire. According to The Nightly, the board is a new international body personally headed by Trump and tasked with overseeing post-war arrangements for Gaza, making these talks the first publicly reported contact between the board and Hamas since the outbreak of the Iran war. The Straits Times reports that the ceasefire has come under serious strain since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, with the talks framed as part of attempts to prevent escalation in Gaza while the regional conflict widens.
As reported by The Nightly, three unnamed sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters that Hamas delegates used the meeting to warn the board that the group could back away from previous commitments under the Gaza ceasefire if Israel maintains new restrictions imposed during the Iran conflict. According to The Straits Times, the war with Iran prompted Israel to shut Gaza’s borders on February 28, citing security concerns at the crossings. Both outlets report that Israel later allowed a limited flow of goods and aid to resume, but kept the Rafah pedestrian crossing into Egypt closed until a new decision announced after the Cairo talks.
Reactions and context: how are parties responding?
How did Israel respond after the Cairo meeting?
According to reporting in The Nightly, following the weekend talks in Cairo Israel announced on Sunday that it would soon reopen the sole pedestrian crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt at Rafah, which had been shut since the start of the Iran bombing campaign. One source quoted by Reuters and cited by The Nightly said he believed the Israeli decision was a direct result of the meeting between Hamas and the Board of Peace, though this has not been officially confirmed. The Straits Times notes that Israel’s government did not immediately respond to questions on whether reopening Rafah was linked to the Cairo talks.
As carried by The Straits Times, a Palestinian official with knowledge of the discussions said Hamas believes Israel is exploiting the war on Iran to evade its obligations under Trump’s Gaza plan, an assertion Israel rejects. The same reporting says Hamas has indicated it may reconsider its ceasefire commitments if restrictions on Gaza remain, underscoring the fragility of the current arrangement. Hamas itself declined to comment publicly on the meeting, according to The Straits Times.
What is Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ and Gaza plan?
According to The Nightly’s account of the Reuters report, Trump’s “Board of Peace” is an international body personally headed by the US president and mandated to oversee post-war governance and reconstruction in Gaza. The Straits Times describes Trump’s Gaza plan as his flagship Middle East initiative before the Iran war, built around an October ceasefire that left Israel in control of more than half of Gaza’s territory while more than 2 million Palestinians remained concentrated in a narrower Hamas-controlled area. The initiative has included commitments on reconstruction and the reopening of the Rafah crossing, which had reportedly gained momentum in the month before the conflict with Iran escalated.
As reported by The Straits Times, Trump’s plan hinges in part on whether Hamas militants will agree to lay down their arms in exchange for amnesty, intended to enable reconstruction and further Israeli military withdrawals from Gaza. Reuters reporting cited by The Straits Times previously indicated that talks on Hamas disarmament, expected in the next phase of Trump’s plan, have been on hold since the start of the Iran war. The Nightly notes that none of the sources who described the Cairo discussions said whether disarmament would be on the agenda for this round of talks.
Supporting details: who attended and what was discussed?
According to The Nightly, one of the sources familiar with the talks said the Board of Peace was represented in Cairo by Aryeh Lightstone, a US aide to Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. The Straits Times similarly reports that a US official confirmed Lightstone had taken part in Gaza-related meetings in Cairo in recent days but did not confirm whether he specifically met with the Hamas delegation. Two other sources cited by The Nightly said meetings involving Lightstone were planned, but they could not verify whether he had already attended.
As reported by The Nightly, US negotiators are continuing to meet regional partners to advance Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, though detailed terms of that plan were not disclosed in the publicly available reporting. The Straits Times notes that further meetings between the Board of Peace and regional actors, including possible additional contacts with Hamas, were expected this week, based on sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Both outlets emphasize that the individuals describing the talks were not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity, reflecting the sensitivity of the contacts.
The Straits Times reports that Israeli military operations in Gaza have continued during the wider conflict with Iran, including strikes on March 15 that killed 12 people, among them nine police officers, with the Israeli military citing threats or fire from Hamas as justification. This ongoing pattern of strikes forms part of the backdrop to Hamas’s warnings in Cairo that Israel’s actions during the Iran war could undermine its commitments under the ceasefire and Trump’s plan.
Implications and future developments: what happens next?
Will the Gaza ceasefire hold amid regional war?
According to The Straits Times, the Gaza ceasefire is under serious strain as US and Israeli operations against Iran continue, raising concerns that any further escalation or unresolved restrictions on Gaza could prompt Hamas to retreat from its commitments. Reporting carried by both The Nightly and The Straits Times indicates that further meetings involving the Board of Peace envoys and regional partners are expected in Cairo in the coming days, suggesting diplomatic efforts will continue to focus on sustaining the ceasefire and implementing elements of Trump’s Gaza plan.
As reported by The Nightly, Israel’s decision to reopen the Rafah pedestrian crossing later this week, following a security assessment, will be an early test of whether understandings reached around the Cairo meeting translate into concrete easing of restrictions on Gaza residents. The Straits Times notes that key questions remain unresolved, including whether negotiations on Hamas disarmament will resume and how far Israel will go in meeting commitments tied to reconstruction and territorial withdrawals. The evolving interaction between these diplomatic talks, military developments in Gaza, and the broader Iran conflict will shape whether Trump’s “Board of Peace” can stabilize the ceasefire or whether the enclave faces renewed escalation.
The meeting in Cairo between Hamas representatives and envoys from Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” marks the first publicly reported contact between the two sides since the start of the Iran war and highlights mounting pressure on all parties to preserve a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. With Israel preparing to reopen the Rafah crossing while continuing military strikes, Hamas warning it could step back from its commitments, and US-backed negotiators pressing ahead with Trump’s Gaza plan, the outcome of further talks in Cairo will be critical in determining whether the enclave moves toward reconstruction or renewed conflict.
