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Hamas calls for Trump's Board of Peace to 'compel' Israel over Gaza peace plan – Middle East crisis live

Hamas has called on Trump's Board of Peace to compel Israel to accept a US-backed 15-point Gaza roadmap, even as Netanyahu labeled the plan unacceptable and Israel resumed airstrikes.

By Mabel Banfield-Nwachi·Aug 17·theguardian.com·3 min read

Intelligence analysis by Llama

Hamas calls for Trump's Board of Peace to 'compel' Israel over Gaza peace plan – Middle East crisis live
Image: theguardian.com

Hamas is pressing mediators and Trump's Board of Peace to force Israel to approve a US 15-point Gaza peace plan, while envoy Jared Kushner prepares to meet Netanyahu in a high-stakes Cairo-Washington diplomatic push amid renewed strikes and a stalled US-Iran track.

Why it matters

This story tracks simultaneous high-stakes tracks — Gaza diplomacy, the expiring US-Iran memorandum, and Hormuz shipping disruptions — that together shape Middle East security, energy markets, and the credibility of Trump's peace architecture.

Hamas is asking a peace group set up by President Trump to make Israel accept a new peace deal for Gaza, while Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner flies around the Middle East to talk to everyone. At the same time, ships carrying oil through a narrow waterway have nearly stopped, and a temporary deal between the US and Iran runs out today.

Analysis

Kushner's Cairo shuttle and the 15-point Gaza plan

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and now a lead envoy, met in Cairo on Sunday alongside Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators — and, according to a diplomatic source cited by Reuters, with Hamas officials at some of those sessions. The talks are aimed at advancing what Trump has framed as a 15-point Gaza peace plan, and former British prime minister Tony Blair is also part of the delegation. Hamas's follow-up statement asked mediators and the US-created board overseeing the ceasefire to "compel" Israel to approve the roadmap. The diplomatic choreography — Cairo first, then a Monday meeting with Netanyahu — illustrates how the administration is trying to pressure a publicly defiant ally into accepting a deal that the Israeli prime minister has already described as "unacceptable," a rare rupture in the US-Israel public posture.

Khan Younis, Nuseirat and the strike tempo

The diplomatic push is unfolding against an active battlefield. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck two Islamic Jihad and Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Nuseirat on Sunday, with Gaza medics reporting at least five Palestinians wounded in a strike on a tent encampment and a subsequent death at Nasser hospital. A separate airstrike hit an apartment in the Nuseirat camp. Reuters cited a senior Israeli official saying Israel is concerned about Washington's demand to end targeted assassinations of Hamas militants as the group rebuilds its forces — a tension that sits at the heart of the 15-point plan, which calls for an immediate halt to military operations, Hamas disarmament, an Israeli withdrawal, and reconstruction. Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Sunday publicly condemned Israel's rejection of the roadmap, framing it as obstruction — a notable signal from two normalization-minded Gulf states that have so far been reluctant to break with Israel.

Kpler's Hormuz data and the expiring US-Iran memorandum

A second, quieter crisis is converging on the same Monday. The 60-day memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran aimed at ending their conflict expires on 17 August, and talks remain stalled, raising the prospect of renewed escalation. Kpler ship-tracking data shows the energy-market early warning: only five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, and none registered for Sunday, compared with 31 the previous weekend — a sharp collapse tied to recent attacks on tankers. The US military's top Middle East commander, Adm Brad Cooper, visited the carrier USS Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, publicly praising leadership even as reports surfaced of mental-health and supply strain on a long-deployed crew. The convergence of a stalled Iran track, a Hormuz shipping squeeze, and a Gaza deal Netanyahu won't publicly endorse means a single Monday could reshape sanctions posture, oil flows, and ceasefire credibility in parallel.

Key points

  • Hamas called on Trump's Board of Peace to 'compel' Israel to approve the US 15-point Gaza peace plan
  • Netanyahu has publicly called the same plan 'unacceptable' as Kushner prepared to meet him on Monday
  • Israel resumed airstrikes in Khan Younis and Nuseirat, with medics reporting multiple wounded and at least one death
  • The 60-day US-Iran memorandum expires Monday with talks stalled
  • Kpler data shows Hormuz transit collapsed to five vessels Saturday and zero Sunday, down from 31 the prior weekend
  • Saudi Arabia and the UAE publicly condemned Israel for rejecting the roadmap
The Upside

If Kushner convinces Netanyahu to soften his public opposition and the Board of Peace presses both sides, the 15-point plan could produce a ceasefire, a Hamas disarmament track, and reconstruction financing — with Saudi and UAE backing lowering the political cost for Israel. A successful Hormuz de-escalation and a renewed US-Iran arrangement would also stabilize energy routes.

The Downside

Netanyahu's public rejection of the plan, continued targeted killings of Hamas militants, and the stalled US-Iran talks all point to a high risk of failure. A non-renewed memorandum could reopen the US-Iran conflict and deepen the Hormuz shipping slowdown, pushing oil prices and regional escalation higher in parallel.

Market signals

OILXAU
  • OIL Kpler data cited in the article shows Hormuz transits fell to five on Saturday and zero on Sunday versus 31 the prior weekend after tanker attacks, a direct supply-route risk signal.
  • XAU The simultaneous expiry of the US-Iran memorandum, stalled talks, and Gaza escalation support safe-haven demand per the article's framing.

AI-generated analysis of potential market relevance. Not financial advice.

Originally reported at

theguardian.com

Discernion covers the story. Read the full piece at the source.

Tagsmiddle-eastglobal-newsoilpoliticsus-politicsiran

Author

Mabel Banfield-Nwachi

Intelligence analysis by

Llama

Published

Aug 17, 2026

Source

theguardian.com

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Topics

middle-eastglobal-newsoilpoliticsus-politicsiran

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