US President Donald Trump left Israel Monday after a brief visit, an AFP journalist reported, and headed to the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he is co-chairing a summit on Gaza.
During his visit, he addressed Israel's parliament and hailed what he called the end of a "painful nightmare" for Israelis and Palestinians under a ceasefire deal he helped broker.
On Monday afternoon in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and U.S. President Donald Trump will preside over an international summit focused on implementing a ceasefire in Gaza.
Among those also expected are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Representation is also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, India, and Germany, among others.
The Hamas movement was not invited, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declined the invitation, citing the proximity of the summit to Jewish religious holidays.
Earlier, the Egyptian presidency had confirmed the participation of both the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas at the summit. It also stated that Netanyahu had a phone conversation with President al-Sissi in the presence of President Trump upon the latter’s arrival at the Knesset headquarters that day. However, Netanyahu’s participation in the summit was ultimately canceled.
Diplomatic sources indicated that the United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey would sign a guarantee document for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza during this highly anticipated summit.
Delegations have already begun arriving in Sharm El-Sheikh to attend the summit, which is scheduled to start Monday afternoon in this city located on the shores of the Red Sea.
The Egyptian president decided to award his American counterpart the “Order of the Nile” in recognition of “his remarkable contributions to supporting peace efforts, de-escalating conflicts, and more recently for his central role in stopping the war in Gaza,” according to Ambassador Mohamed el-Chenawy, official spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency, on Monday.
In statements to the Axios website, U.S. President Donald Trump described the Gaza agreement as “the greatest possible achievement,” affirming that the list of participants at the Sharm El-Sheikh summit proves that “the world is united around his peace plan for Gaza.”
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