US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi are set to co-chair a Gaza peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, with leaders from over 20 countries expected to attend. The summit aims to end the war in Gaza, enhance peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security.
Confirmed attendees include UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron. There was no immediate confirmation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas has stated it will not participate.
The summit follows a ceasefire and prisoner-swap deal between Israel and Hamas, brokered through indirect negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, with involvement from US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The truce has facilitated an increase in humanitarian aid into Gaza.
On Saturday, three Qatari diplomats were killed in a car crash in Sharm el-Sheikh, with two others wounded, according to security sources. The war, which began after a Hamas-led incursion into Israel on 7 October 2023, has resulted in over 67,000 Palestinian deaths, mostly civilians, according to local health authorities.
As the ceasefire holds, thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza, many finding their homes destroyed. “My house, which I built 40 years ago, was gone in a moment,” said Ahmed al-Jabari, standing in the wreckage of Gaza City. “I’m happy that there is no blood, no killing, but where will we go? Will we live 20 years in a tent?”
