The Egyptian flag flies in front of the venue hosting an international summit on Gaza, held as part of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm al-Sheikh on the Red Sea, on Oct. 12, 2025. (Credit: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump will chair a “Peace Summit” on Monday afternoon in Sharm al- Sheikh, attended by leaders from more than 20 countries and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.
“The summit aims to end the war in the Gaza Strip, strengthen efforts to establish peace and stability in the Middle East, and open a new chapter of regional security and stability,” the Egyptian presidency announced on Saturday, the second day of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated on Sunday that a “document to end the war in the Gaza Strip” will be signed during the summit.
Absences: Hamas, Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority
Several regional leaders have confirmed their participation, including King Abdullah II of Jordan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to Egypt to show “support for the implementation of the agreement presented by President Trump to end the war in Gaza,” according to the Elysée Palace. He also intends to discuss “next steps for implementing the peace plan” with his international partners.
Other European leaders expected to attend include UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Council President António Costa.
However, the summit will also be notable for its absences. Hamas has already announced it will not participate in signing the document. Senior Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP that the movement is acting “through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) was not invited to the Sharm al-Sheikh talks, according to Al-Araby al-Jadeed. A senior PA official said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was not invited by Egyptian host Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, despite Ramallah’s requests. The Egyptian president reportedly declined because the PA is not included in President Trump’s Gaza plan.
On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not confirmed his participation. His office said on Sunday that it remains “ready to immediately receive all hostages.”
Seven Palestinians killed despite cease-fire
According to the Wall Street Journal, Hamas informed Israel through Arab mediators that it is ready to release 20 Israeli hostages alive as early as Sunday.
Originally, it was expected that the 48 hostages—alive or deceased — still held by Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions would be freed before Monday at 09:00 a.m. (GMT). In exchange, Israel is to release 250 “security detainees”, including 63 Hamas members, out of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners to be released in the first phase of the agreement. More than 1,700 of these detainees were arrested by the Israeli army since Oct. 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, according to the latest report from the Gaza Ministry of Health, at least seven Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army in the past 24 hours, with 33 more injured, despite the official cease-fire taking effect.
The ministry added that 117 previously killed bodies were recovered from rubble or roads and transported to hospitals in the enclave. This brings the official toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire or strikes to at least 67,806, with 170,066 injured since the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza in October 2023.
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