New York: Declaring that “the war is over,” US President Donald Trump departed for Egypt on Sunday, where he will join several world leaders for a Gaza peace summit aimed at ending the two-year conflict.
The summit in Sharm El-Sheikh marks the first major peace breakthrough of Trump’s second term, following his successful push to get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to a 20-point peace plan proposed by the US.
Before heading to Egypt, Trump will make a brief stop in Israel to meet Netanyahu and address the Knesset.
The ceasefire, which halted fighting in Gaza on Friday, paved the way for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages through the Red Cross on Monday. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a surprise assault on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Hamas has previously released several hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. In addition to the remaining 20 hostages, the group is also expected to return the bodies of about 20 others who died in captivity.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed roughly 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials.
Trump’s peace deal — brokered with the help of Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye, and involving his son-in-law Jared Kushner — was hailed as a diplomatic milestone.
Among those expected to attend the summit are UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and leaders from Qatar and the UAE.
It remains unclear whether Israel will participate and at what level.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited by Trump and el-Sisi but will not attend; Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh will represent India instead.
Speaking before boarding Air Force One in the rain, Trump said he was confident the ceasefire and subsequent peace steps would hold, citing celebrations on both sides.
“Everyone was cheering at one time — that’s never happened before,” he told reporters. “Usually, if one side cheers, the other doesn’t.”
Trump claimed that “500,000 people yesterday and today in Israel” celebrated the deal, adding that “Muslim and Arab countries were cheering” as well.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty echoed Trump’s optimism, saying the next phase of the plan involves Hamas laying down its arms. He revealed that Egypt and Jordan are coordinating the creation of a 5,000-member Palestinian security force to be deployed in Gaza, with possible support from other Arab and Muslim countries. Indonesia has already offered 20,000 troops.
While Abdelatty said any international deployment would require UN Security Council authorization, it is unlikely to be a UN peacekeeping mission.
Under Trump’s plan, a “Board of Peace,” chaired by him, will oversee Gaza’s stabilization and reconstruction. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will lead its operations.
Hamas will be excluded from any governing role in Gaza, which will instead be administered by “qualified Palestinians and international experts.”
“The first priority is to take care of the people,” Trump said aboard Air Force One. “And that’s going to start essentially immediately.”
As part of the deal, Israel has lifted its blockade on humanitarian aid. The UN confirmed that convoys carrying food, medicine, and tents have begun entering Gaza, where 80 percent of buildings have been destroyed during the war.
