The Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh. (Photo: video grab)
Egypt said the summit aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability.”
Heads of state and senior officials from several countries arrived in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday to participate in an international peace summit on Gaza.
According to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News Channel, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi welcomed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the summit opening, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Also arriving were French President Emmanuel Macron, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Pakistani Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also arrived at the summit venue.
‘To End War in Gaza’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Gianni Infantino also arrived.
Delegations from Paraguay and the Netherlands also arrived in the Egyptian city, the channel reported, without specifying the level of participation.
More than 20 world leaders are scheduled to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which will be co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his American counterpart, Donald Trump.
Egypt said the summit aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability.”
Netanyahu Will Not Attend
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the premier was invited by by Trump to attend the summit in Egypt, but that he would not attend.
“The (Israeli) Prime Minister thanked President Trump for his invitation but stated that he would not be able to attend due to the proximity of the event to the start of the holiday,” the statement said.
The Egyptian presidency also confirmed that Netanyahu will not attend the peace summit.
‘Second Phase has Started’ – Trump
Meanwhile, Trump said on Monday that the second phase of his Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal has begun, foreshadowing major developments following the critical summit in Egypt, Anadolu reported.
“It started, as far as we’re concerned, phase two has started. And, you know, the phases are all a little bit mixed in with each other,” Trump told reporters in Sharm El-Sheikh where he was being hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ahead of the convening of what the White House is calling a “Middle East Peace Ceremony.”
Trump said reconstruction in Gaza has commenced as regional states finance the effort.
“In another room, you have the wealthiest, some of the wealthiest nations in the world, all leaders. The big leaders are here, the emirs and the kings and everybody,” he said. “I think you’ll see some tremendous progress both in the Middle East.”
Prisoner Exchange
Earlier Monday, Hamas and Israel carried out a prisoner swap deal that saw hundreds of Palestinian prisoners released from Israel’s notorious Ofer military prison and Israeli prison facilities in the Negev Desert. All 20 living Israeli hostages were also released from captivity.
Trump said efforts are underway to locate the bodies of the hostages who died in captivity, saying “they know where numerous are, you know, I guess five or six are in yet now.”
“They’re looking for bodies. They know the areas and the search parties out, and they’re doing it in conjunction with Israel, and they’re going to be finding quite a few of them,” he said.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday under Trump’s plan to end the two-year Israeli genocidal assault on the enclave.
Over 67,000 Killed
Starting on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military, with American support, launched a genocidal war against the people of Gaza. This campaign resulted in the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians, with more than 169,000 wounded. The vast majority of the population has been displaced, and the destruction of infrastructure is unprecedented since World War II. Thousands of people are still missing.
In addition to the military assault, the Israeli blockade caused a man-made famine, leading to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians—mostly children—with hundreds of thousands more at risk.
Despite widespread international condemnation, little has been done to hold Israel accountable. The nation is currently under investigation for genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
(Anadolu, PC)
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