Egypt hosted an international summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh on Monday to consolidate the ceasefire agreement on Gaza and reaffirm the commitment to it.
The summit was attended by more than 20 world leaders and co-chaired by President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump.
The summit also aimed to rally support for the second phase of Trump’s peace plan that looks to create a new governing body in the Gaza Strip, achieve peace in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of security and stability.
In his speech at the summit, President Al-Sisi said the ceasefire agreement will turn a painful page in human history and open the door to a new era of peace and stability in the Middle East.
“Please remember that it is Egypt that initiated the peace process in 1977, and it gave subsequent generations a chance to live, proving that the security of people cannot be achieved through military force alone,” Al-Sisi said, stressing that “peace is the Arab world’s strategic choice, as past decades have proven, and this choice can only be founded on justice and equal rights.”
He added that peace is not made by governments alone but is built by peoples when they realise that yesterday’s enemies can become tomorrow’s partners.
After thanking the mediators for their work on the agreement, meaning the United States, Turkey, and Qatar, Al-Sisi said that Egypt reaffirmed its eagerness to implement the Trump plan.
He expressed his hope that the ceasefire agreement would pave the way for the implementation of the two-state solution.
“Palestinians, too, have the right to determine their destiny, to look forward to a future free from the spectre of war, and the right to enjoy freedom and to live in their independent state… a state living side by side with Israel, in peace, security, and mutual recognition,” he said.
There is a “unique, perhaps final, historic opportunity” to achieve a Middle East free of what threatens its stability and progress, he added. This would be a Middle East where people enjoy peace and a dignified life and a region immune to terrorism and extremism and free of all weapons of mass destruction.
Addressing Trump directly, Al-Sisi said that the American president had proved that leadership is not exhibited by starting wars, but rather by having the power to end them.
“Let the Gaza war be the last in the Middle East,” Al-Sisi said. He hailed Trump’s “keenness to revive life in Gaza” and added that “peace is not complete until hands are stretched to rebuild,” referring to the Gaza reconstruction process.
For his part, Trump said that Al-Sisi has played a very important role in securing a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Now, Trump said, leaders could start planning for phase two of the new peace process. “There is lot of work that has to be done in phase two… I mean the reconstruction of Gaza because all what is in Gaza now is debris,” Trump said.
He told the summit leaders that “we are going to put some of you on the Board of Peace” that will govern Gaza for a temporary transitional period and oversee its reconstruction.
Trump is set to chair the board himself and plans to work with several heads of state, including former British prime minister Tony Blair. He described the ceasefire agreement as a momentous day that will achieve “a great, glorious, and lasting peace” throughout the Middle East.
“What we have achieved together in recent days will change history and be remembered forever,” Trump said, adding that “the momentous breakthrough we are here to celebrate tonight is more than the end of war in Gaza — with God’s help, it will be a new beginning for the entire Middle East.”
The leaders of mediating countries, including Trump, Al-Sisi, Qatar Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signed a document on the Gaza agreement, with all vowing to ensure that it is implemented on the ground.
Ahead of the summit, Egypt has been preparing for the next stage in Gaza. President Al-Sisi emphasised the importance of the Trump plan and the ceasefire agreement in stopping the war, releasing the hostages and detainees, securing the entry of humanitarian aid, and beginning the reconstruction process in the Gaza Strip.
He also stressed the necessity of deploying international forces in the Strip and the importance of granting international legitimacy to the agreement reached through the UN Security Council.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has previously explained that Egypt’s agenda for Gaza in the next stage is focused on three priorities: sending as much humanitarian aid as possible to the Palestinians; organising an international conference for the early recovery and reconstruction of Gaza; and holding a “national dialogue” conference of the Palestinian factions in Cairo.
Abdelatty met with UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher on Sunday to discuss the steps to implement the first phase of the Trump plan, including the provision of sufficient humanitarian aid.
He stressed the importance of UN support for efforts to intensify the flow of humanitarian relief and medical aid during the next phase, given the catastrophic living conditions in the Gaza Strip.
He also reviewed Egypt’s preparations to host the International Conference on the Early Recovery and Reconstruction in Gaza in cooperation with international partners, expressing the aspiration for the active participation of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) at the conference.
Beginning on Sunday, Egypt has sent 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza. This was the largest-ever aid convoy to Gaza following the initial signing of the Trump peace plan in Sharm El-Sheikh on 9 October.
Governor of North Sinai Khaled Megawer said that starting Monday the amount of humanitarian relief will increase to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated by the Trump ceasefire agreement.
He indicated that aid is flowing from Arish, the capital of North Sinai, and that the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) and the governorate’s warehouses have moved towards Rafah and from there to the Kerem Shalom Crossing. This allows aid to enter directly and unconditionally to the people of the Gaza Strip, following the ceasefire agreement and the end of the war on the Strip.
The ERC said in a statement that the trucks carried 6,000 tons of food and flour, more than 1,000 tons of medical supplies, tents, blankets, baby formula, legumes, bakery supplies, and bread, and 2,000 tons of fuel.
Megawer confirmed that the Rafah Crossing on the Egyptian side has never been closed and that acting under instructions from the Egyptian political leadership the North Sinai governorate will work around the clock to send in the largest possible number of trucks carrying food, humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip.
Khaled Zayed, chair of the ERC, said that hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Sunday and Monday and that the ERC has already established an Egyptian camp in Khan Younis inside Gaza to give shelter to Palestinians who have lost their homes during the war.
Megawer indicated that starting Tuesday the Rafah Crossing would become fully prepared to receive wounded Palestinians arriving from the Gaza Strip to be treated in Egyptian hospitals, as well as return stranded Palestinians wishing to go back to the Strip.
Hand in hand with delivering aid to the Palestinians, Egypt is planning to organise an International Conference on the Early Recovery and Reconstruction in Gaza.
Abdelatty said the conference will be organised in coordination with the US, the UN, European countries, and a large number of international and regional donor organisations. President Al-Sisi told the summit on Monday that the conference would be held in November.
Abdelatty explained that Egypt’s reconstruction plan calls for Gaza to be rebuilt over five years. “The $53 billion plan is designed in three phases aimed at stabilising, reconstructing, and developing the enclave into a self-sustaining economy while keeping Gazans in their homeland throughout,” he said.
The first phase of the plan will take place over a period of six months. The focus will be on removing debris, clearing unexploded ordnance, and providing temporary housing for those displaced by the conflict.
The second phase, which will take place over two years, aims to build 200,000 housing units, while restoring essential services such as electricity, water, road networks, schools and hospitals. These developments are expected to cost $20 billion.
The final phase, which will last two-and-a-half years, is designed to transform Gaza into a thriving and self-sustaining economy through establishing industrial zones, a seaport, and coastal tourism facilities.
RECONSTRUCTION: Egypt’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza proposes the creation of an internationally supervised trust fund to channel financial support from international donors. Key contributors are expected to include wealthy Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, alongside the EU and other international bodies.
German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz announced on Friday that his country would also organise a Gaza Reconstruction Conference in cooperation with Egypt and that it will contribute $33 million. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also pledged $26 million in aid to Gaza.
Meanwhile, Egypt announced that two months ago it began training Palestinian security forces to take control of the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli emphasised that Egypt is working to ensure that Palestinian Authority (PA) agencies have the exclusive right to possess weapons and that there will be security guarantees for both the Palestinian and Israeli sides.
According to the Trump plan, there will be no role for Hamas or any other Palestinian factions in governing the Gaza Strip. “Instead, all the armed factions must surrender their weapons to the legitimate authority, namely the Palestinian Authority,” Madbouli said.
According to the Trump plan, a temporary International Stabilisation Force (ISF) will be created to deploy in Gaza and this will work with Egypt and Israel to help secure its borders along with newly trained Palestinian forces.
Political analyst and expert on Palestinian affairs Ibrahim Al-Derawi said it is very important for the PA to take over the Gaza Strip in the coming stage.
“This will not only help stabilise Gaza, but will also reinforce Egypt’s national security,” he said, adding that “at one time the war on Gaza and the existence of Hamas in power represented a major danger for Egyptian national security and led its relations with Israel to sink to a new low.”
The war on Gaza, he added, also created tensions with the US as President Al-Sisi had decided to cancel plans to visit Washington at the start of this year after Trump had asked Egypt to take in Palestinians from Gaza and unveiled his “Gaza Riviera” scheme.
The scheme prompted Egypt to develop its own plan for Gaza’s reconstruction. Trump’s visit to Egypt on Monday provided an opportunity for a reset of relations with the country.
Al-Derawi explained that the war on Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats to displace the Palestinians had also led Egypt to beef up its military presence in Sinai, although its purpose appeared to be a deterrence against any Israeli move to expel the Palestinians rather than an offensive threat.
“Now with the war being over, it will be important for Egypt to have a stable and secure Gaza on its borders,” Al-Derawi said.
Abdelatty clarified in an interview with the US CBS Face the Nation programme that Egypt, along with Jordan, are providing training to 5,000 Palestinian forces to support security and stabilisation in Gaza for a limited period of time (six months) in accordance with the Trump plan.
He emphasised that Egypt is also supporting the idea of deploying international forces in the Strip. “We welcome the inclusion of international support for a mission on the ground, with its tasks to be determined by the Security Council, through the dispatch of international forces within the context of a single political package that represents a path to the realisation of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and its primary objective shall include the empowerment of the Palestinian Authority,” Abdelatty said.
He also highlighted the importance of the effective participation of US forces on the ground to ensure Israel’s commitment to what has been agreed upon.
In the meantime, Cairo is scheduled to host a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue in the coming days to discuss the political future of Gaza following the signing of the ceasefire agreement. Palestinian sources told Al-Arabiya TV channel that “the conference will bring together the majority of the Palestinian factions, including Hamas, in addition to the Fatah Movement.”
He added that Cairo has begun preparing for the conference to determine the future of the Gaza Strip, end divisions, arrange for the day after the ceasefire in the Strip, and also to discuss issues related to the future of the Palestinian cause.
Al-Derawi indicated that Cairo has always been the place for the Palestinian factions to meet and discuss national and political unity. “In previous times and ahead of the war in Gaza in 2023, Hamas always stood against Palestinian unity, but now things have changed as Hamas has lost its military and political power in Gaza,” he said.
“It will be Hamas that should seek national unity and that should be the first to end the Palestinian divisions if it wants to stay alive after the disaster it has inflicted on Gaza.”
Al-Derawi explained that the Palestinian factions should make use of the fact that several Western countries, including France, Britain, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and Australia, have recognised a Palestinian state to support and strengthen the Palestinian Authority.
Major-General Mohamed Al-Masri, head of the Cairo-based Palestinian Centre for Strategic Research and Studies, told Al-Arabiya that discussions at the Cairo conference are expected to focus on proposals aimed at “freezing” Hamas’ weapons through placing them in specific warehouses under Egyptian or Arab supervision or through supervisory mechanisms that include the Palestinian Authority.
According to Trump’s 21-point plan, there will be a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the institution of a post-war governance system that does not include either Hamas or Israel, with the objective of a secure Gaza that no longer poses a threat to Egypt, Israel, or its own citizens.
The plan also states that the Palestinian Authority can securely and effectively take back control of Gaza after it completes a reform programme.
In accordance with the plan, Al-Masri expects that Cairo’s Palestinian national dialogue will primarily aim to draw up a roadmap for the coming period, which will include holding legislative and presidential elections one year after the ceasefire in Gaza.
He concluded by emphasising that the Palestinians must unite under an Arab umbrella and that any faction seeking to govern Gaza or the West Bank must submit to a political agreement decided by an elected leadership.
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Full text of the Sharm El-Sheikh declaration signed at the summit:
“We, the undersigned, welcome the truly historic commitment and implementation by all parties to the Trump Peace Agreement, ending more than two years of profound suffering and loss - opening a new chapter for the region defined by hope, security, and a shared vision for peace and prosperity.
We support and stand behind President Trump’s sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza and bring lasting peace to the Middle East. Together, we will implement this agreement in a manner that ensures peace, security, stability, and opportunity for all peoples of the region, including both Palestinians and Israelis.
We understand that lasting peace will be one in which both Palestinians and Israelis can prosper with their fundamental human rights protected, their security guaranteed, and their dignity upheld.
We affirm that meaningful progress emerges through cooperation and sustained dialogue, and that strengthening bonds among nations and peoples serves the enduring interests of regional and global peace and stability.
We recognize the deep historical and spiritual significance of this region to the faith communities whose roots are intertwined with the land of the region - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism among them. Respect for these sacred connections and the protection of their heritage sites shall remain paramount in our commitment to peaceful coexistence.
We are united in our determination to dismantle extremism and radicalization in all its forms. No society can flourish when violence and racism is normalized, or when radical ideologies threaten the fabric of civil life. We commit to addressing the conditions that enable extremism and to promoting education, opportunity, and mutual respect as foundations for lasting peace.
We hereby commit to the resolution of future disputes through diplomatic engagement and negotiation rather than through force or protracted conflict. We acknowledge that the Middle East cannot endure a persistent cycle of prolonged warfare, stalled negotiations, or the fragmentary, incomplete, or selective application of successfully negotiated terms. The tragedies witnessed over the past two years must serve as an urgent reminder that future generations deserve better than the failures of the past.
We seek tolerance, dignity, and equal opportunity for every person, ensuring this region is a place where all can pursue their aspirations in peace, security, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, faith, or ethnicity.
We pursue a comprehensive vision of peace, security, and shared prosperity in the region, grounded in the principles of mutual respect and shared destiny.
In this spirit, we welcome the progress achieved in establishing comprehensive and durable peace arrangements in the Gaza Strip, as well as the friendly and mutually beneficial relationship between Israel and its regional neighbors. We pledge to work collectively to implement and sustain this legacy, building institutional foundations upon which future generations may thrive together in peace.
We commit ourselves to a future of enduring peace.”
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