As US President Donald Trump departed for Israel and Egypt on Sunday night (local time) the ceasefire in Gaza appeared to hold for a fourth day on Monday. Israelis and Palestinians are also awaiting the proposed
hostage-prisoner exchange as the peace deal to end the war in the blockaded coastal enclave rests on both sides adhering to the agreement to exchange hostages seized from Israel in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack for Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Trump and Sisi will chair the Gaza peace summit of more than 20 world leaders on Monday in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.
The gathering aims “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”, the Egyptian president’s office said.
India has also been invited to the summit where Union Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh will represent New Delhi. French President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will also be in attendance. Neither Hamas leaders nor Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will attend.