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As Israel and Hamas prepare for a hostage-prisoner exchange, US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, are due to chair a Gaza peace summit. The event will take place on Monday at Sharm el-Sheikh, with other world leaders expected to be in attendance.
According to the statement released by the Egyptian presidency office, the meeting will take place in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, “with the participation of leaders from more than 20 countries”. The office noted that the summit will aim “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability”.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, said that he would attend the event. Confirmation of attendance also came from Britain’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, and Pedro Sánchez of Spain and the French President, Emmanuel Macron.
But is Netanyahu attending the event
Interestingly, there has been no immediate word about whether Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu would be in Sharm el-Sheikh for the summit. Meanwhile, Hamas has made it clear that it will not take part. The summit will be taking place just days after three Qatari diplomats were killed in a car crash on Saturday at the Red Sea resort, two security sources told Reuters. Two diplomats were also wounded, the security sources said.
The summit is being arranged in Egypt after both Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire proposal pushed by Trump. The agreement came after intense indirect negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh in recent days. More than 67,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza. The war which have been raging on for two years after Hamas conducted a surprise attack in Southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people.
The negotiations, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, and involving US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, precipitated the truce and subsequent increase of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The announcement of the summit also came as thousands of Palestinians journeyed along the north of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to what was left of their homes.
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God,” Nabila Basa told Reuters, as she travelled by foot with her daughter, who she said had suffered a head wound in the war. “We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended.” However, for many, Gaza is no home to return to as the war has left their homes in shambles.
With inputs from agencies.
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