Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Donald Trump will chair a Gaza peace summit tomorrow afternoon in Sharm el-Sheikh, where leaders from more than 20 countries and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will be present, but no Israeli officials will be present.
"No Israeli official will participate," Shosh Bedrosian, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told AFP today.
"A document on ending the war in the Gaza Strip" will be signed during the summit, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced today.
The Egyptian presidency announced yesterday, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, that "the goal of the summit is to end the war in the Gaza Strip, strengthen efforts to establish peace and stability in the Middle East, and open a new chapter in regional security."
In addition to the UN Secretary-General, several leaders have announced their participation, including Jordanian King Abdullah II and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Egypt to express support for "the implementation of the agreement presented by President Trump to end the war in Gaza," according to a statement from the Elysee Palace.
Macron intends to discuss "with his partners the next steps in implementing the peace plan."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will attend the summit, which "marks a historic turning point for the region after two years of conflict and bloodshed," Downing Street said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are also expected to visit Egypt, as are German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and President of the Council of the European Union Antonio Costa.
Hamas announced that it would not participate in the signing of the document.
One of its senior officials, Hossam Badran, told AFP that the Palestinian Islamist movement operates "through Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries."
Under the terms of the agreement between Israel and Hamas, the 48 hostages or remains of hostages must be returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip before 7:00 a.m. on Monday.
In return, Israel must release 250 prisoners, including many convicted of deadly attacks against Israel, and 1.700 Palestinians arrested by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.
The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel, in which almost all the hostages were taken.
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