Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt – In a sun-drenched resort city on the shores of the Red Sea, world leaders gathered Monday under the co-chairmanship of U.S. President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to formalize the first phase of a landmark Gaza ceasefire agreement. The summit, attended by over 20 heads of state including Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, marked a pivotal moment in ending a devastating two-year conflict that has claimed over 67,000 Palestinian lives and displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza.
As delegates affixed their signatures to the "Implementation Steps for President Trump's Proposal for a Comprehensive End of Gaza War," Sisi turned to Trump with unreserved praise. "You are the only one capable of achieving peace in the region," the Egyptian leader declared during a bilateral meeting ahead of the plenary session. Sisi described the ceasefire as a "remarkable achievement," crediting Trump's relentless diplomacy for brokering the deal that halted Israel's military operations and secured the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas. "President Trump played a very important role in the talks with Hamas," Sisi added, emphasizing Egypt's pivotal mediation efforts in facilitating indirect negotiations between the warring parties.
Trump, visibly moved by the applause that echoed through the conference hall, reciprocated the admiration. "Egypt's President Sisi had a very important role in these talks," he said, holding up a copy of the signed agreement emblazoned with the seals of the mediating nations. The U.S. president, who arrived via Air Force One earlier in the day to cheers from assembled dignitaries, proclaimed the moment "a historic dawn for a new Middle East." He declared the Gaza war "over," insisting the truce would hold and usher in an era of stability. "It took 3,000 years to reach this point – and it'll hold," Trump quipped, drawing laughter and nods from the room.
The agreement's implementation began at dawn on Friday, October 10, when Israeli forces ceased offensive operations across the Gaza Strip, pulling back from key positions in Gaza City and Khan Younis. In exchange, Hamas fulfilled its commitment by handing over the 20 surviving Israeli hostages – all men, including soldiers and civilians abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack – to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles in Khan Younis. Emotional footage broadcast live on Israeli networks captured the hostages' reunions with families at a military base near Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, where tens of thousands had gathered nightly for two years in vigils demanding their return.
Among the freed were Evyatar David, 24, a café manager kidnapped from the Nova music festival; Nimrod Cohen, 20, an IDF soldier captured from a tank near the Gaza border; and Matan Angrest, 22, another conscript seized in the chaos of the initial assault. Many appeared gaunt and traumatized, having endured 738 days in underground tunnels, but initial medical reports indicated they were in stable condition after examinations. Hamas also transferred the remains of four deceased captives on Monday, with pledges to return the bodies of 24 more in the coming days. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum confirmed that these releases bring the total number of living hostages returned since the war's outset to 231, leaving only the deceased unaccounted for.
In a reciprocal gesture, Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners early Monday, including 250 serving life sentences and 1,700 detained since October 2023, many from Gaza. Buses ferrying the detainees crossed into Gaza through the newly reopened Rafah crossing, where crowds of relatives waved Palestinian flags amid scenes of jubilation tempered by grief over the war's toll. Among those freed were women, children, and elderly detainees, some held without formal charges under administrative detention policies that human rights groups have long criticized.
The ceasefire's first phase, which Trump laid out in a 20-point framework on September 29, also mandates the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza's 2.3 million residents. Convoys carrying food, water, medical supplies, and fuel began entering via Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings over the weekend, coordinated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations. The World Health Organization reported that these shipments could avert a full-scale famine in northern Gaza, where aid blockades had led to widespread malnutrition. "This is lifesaving," said UN aid chief Martin Griffiths in a statement from the summit. "For the first time in months, we can reach those in desperate need without fear of bombardment."
Yet, the celebrations were shadowed by the conflict's staggering human cost. Since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack – which killed 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, mostly civilians, and triggered Israel's retaliatory invasion – the war has killed at least 67,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, with women and children comprising over 70% of the fatalities. Independent estimates, including a peer-reviewed Lancet study from January 2025, suggest the true toll could exceed 80,000 when accounting for bodies under rubble and indirect deaths from disease and starvation. Gaza, once a densely populated coastal enclave, now lies in ruins: 80% of buildings damaged or destroyed, hospitals reduced to rubble, and over 170,000 injured, many facing life-altering amputations without adequate prosthetics. The UN has described the strip as "largely uninhabitable," with 90% of residents displaced multiple times and 2,596 children orphaned.
Trump's plan, negotiated with input from Arab states like Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE, envisions a phased resolution. Phase one, now complete, focused on de-escalation, hostage-prisoner swaps, and aid flows. Phase two, which negotiations for began informally at the summit, calls for establishing a "technocratic and apolitical Palestinian committee" to govern Gaza temporarily, excluding Hamas. This body would be overseen by an international "Board of Peace," chaired by Trump and including figures like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, tasked with funding reconstruction and ensuring Hamas's disarmament.
The road to phase two, however, is fraught with challenges. Hamas, though weakened, retains significant influence in Gaza, and its leaders have vowed to resist disarmament unless Israel fully withdraws and lifts the blockade in place since 2007. Palestinian factions, including Fatah, expressed cautious support for the ceasefire but demanded a clear path to statehood, a sticking point absent from Trump's framework. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a key signatory, faces domestic pressure from far-right coalition partners who oppose any concessions, including prisoner releases. Yet, the presence of over 20 world leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh – including Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who signaled openness to normalizing ties with Israel if Gaza's reconstruction progresses – lent unprecedented international weight to the agreement.
The summit's closing ceremony saw Trump and Sisi clasp hands before a backdrop of Egyptian, American, and Palestinian flags, a symbolic gesture of unity. "We’ve turned the page on war," Trump declared, promising to personally oversee phase two negotiations. Sisi echoed the optimism, calling for "a new era of cooperation" to rebuild Gaza and stabilize the region. As the leaders dispersed, aid trucks continued rolling into Gaza, offering a glimmer of hope to a population battered by two years of unrelenting violence. Whether this fragile truce can evolve into lasting peace remains uncertain, but for now, the world watches as Gaza takes its first steps toward recovery.
