Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt – October 13, 2025 – In a display of international solidarity and diplomatic urgency, heads of state and senior officials from over 20 nations descended upon Egypt's sun-drenched Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, marking the opening of a pivotal peace summit aimed at solidifying an end to the devastating two-year war in Gaza. The gathering, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives on the heels of a fragile ceasefire that took effect last Friday, offering a glimmer of hope to a region scarred by unimaginable loss and destruction.
According to Egypt's state-run Al-Qahera News Channel, President al-Sisi personally welcomed a constellation of key figures upon their arrival at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. Among them were Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose nation has played a crucial mediating role in hostage negotiations; Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose country has hosted Hamas leaders and facilitated aid corridors; Jordan's King Abdullah II, a steadfast advocate for Palestinian statehood; Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, representing the Gulf's evolving stance on regional normalization; and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority (PA) faces an uncertain future in postwar Gaza governance.
The influx of dignitaries continued unabated throughout the morning. French President Emmanuel Macron jetted in from Paris, emphasizing Europe's commitment to humanitarian reconstruction. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, leading the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, arrived to amplify the Global South's voice in the talks. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who assumed office in May after a snap election victory for his center-right CDU/CSU coalition, touched down to underscore Berlin's renewed focus on Middle East stability under his pragmatic leadership. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Pakistan's Prime Minister Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud also made their way to the venue, each bringing agendas shaped by domestic pressures and strategic interests.
Further arrivals included British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour government has pledged £100 million in immediate aid for Gaza; Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, the former Bank of England governor who succeeded Justin Trudeau in March amid escalating U.S.-Canada trade tensions; Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis; United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, representing the global body's humanitarian imperatives; and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair—now eyed for a potential role in a Gaza reconstruction board—and even FIFA President Gianni Infantino, highlighting the summit's broad appeal to cultural and sporting influencers, all converged on the palm-lined conference center.
Delegations from Paraguay and the Netherlands rounded out the diverse roster, though specifics on their participation levels remain undisclosed. Notably absent were Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who cited a religious holiday as the reason for his non-attendance, and representatives from Hamas, the Islamist group that has controlled Gaza since 2007. This exclusion has sparked criticism from some quarters, with observers questioning whether a truly inclusive peace can emerge without direct input from the primary combatants.
The Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, as it has been officially dubbed, is poised to be a landmark event in the annals of Middle East diplomacy. Egyptian officials described its objectives with characteristic ambition: "to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability." The venue itself evokes a storied legacy of peacemaking; Sharm el-Sheikh hosted the 2005 summit that quelled the Second Intifada, and its azure waters and modern facilities have long made it a neutral ground for high-stakes negotiations.
At the heart of the proceedings lies President Trump's ambitious 20-point Gaza peace plan, unveiled in late September after months of shuttle diplomacy involving Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey. The plan's first phase, which activated the ceasefire on October 10, mandates the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas—20 confirmed alive out of 48—in exchange for Israel freeing 250 life-sentence Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees captured since October 7, 2023. Israeli forces have withdrawn to lines controlling approximately 53% of Gaza territory, a partial pullback monitored by a nascent multinational force of 200 U.S.-overseen troops. Humanitarian aid has surged into the Strip, with the United Nations and Red Crescent societies facilitating unhindered distribution of food, water, medical supplies, and reconstruction materials—echoing protocols from a brief January 2025 truce.
Eyewitness accounts from Gaza paint a scene of cautious optimism tempered by profound grief. In Gaza City and Khan Younis, thousands of displaced Palestinians have begun trekking northward through rubble-strewn roads, pushing carts laden with salvaged belongings toward homes reduced to skeletal frames. "We fled south on foot two years ago, with nothing but the clothes on our backs," said Amal Hassan, a 42-year-old mother of four from Beit Lahia, speaking to Reuters correspondents on Sunday. "Now, we're returning to ghosts. But if this ceasefire holds, maybe our children can rebuild what was stolen from them." The World Food Programme has reported facilitating the entry of goods equivalent to one-third of pre-war levels, a vital lifeline amid warnings of famine in northern Gaza.
Yet, the ceasefire's fragility cannot be overstated. Previous truces—in November 2023, January 2025, and a fleeting March 2025 pause—collapsed amid mutual recriminations, with Israel accusing Hamas of withholding hostages and Hamas decrying Israeli incursions. Trump's plan envisions thornier subsequent phases: a full Israeli withdrawal, Hamas's disarmament, and the establishment of a "Board of Peace" for Gaza governance, potentially involving technocrats from the PA and international overseers like Tony Blair. Security guarantees for both sides remain nebulous, with Hamas demanding ironclad assurances against renewed offensives, while Israel insists on demilitarizing the enclave. "We'll see," Trump quipped during a Knesset address in Jerusalem earlier Monday, where he was applauded for brokering the deal before flying to Egypt. "This is about strong, durable peace—not temporary Band-Aids."
The war's human toll underscores the summit's stakes. Since Hamas's October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel—which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw 251 taken hostage—Israel's retaliatory campaign has claimed over 67,800 Palestinian lives, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, with women and children comprising the majority. Independent analyses, including a peer-reviewed Lancet study from January 2025, suggest the true figure could exceed 80,000 when accounting for those buried under rubble and indirect deaths from disease, malnutrition, and collapsed healthcare. Over 170,000 Palestinians have been injured, representing nearly 10% of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.3 million. The enclave, once a densely packed coastal strip, now lies largely uninhabitable: 80% of buildings destroyed or damaged, hospitals reduced to makeshift clinics after 735 Israeli strikes on medical facilities, and agricultural lands contaminated by unexploded ordnance. "Gaza is a graveyard of dreams," UN Secretary-General Guterres remarked upon arrival, his voice heavy with the weight of 224 aid workers killed in the conflict, including 179 from UNRWA.
On the Israeli side, 466 soldiers have perished in combat, alongside 1,517 civilians from the initial attack and subsequent rocket fire. The hostage saga has gripped the nation, with families like that of Noa Argamani—freed in a daring June 2024 raid—now advocating for the remaining captives' swift return. Netanyahu's absence from the summit has fueled speculation of domestic political maneuvering; his far-right coalition partners, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, have vowed to topple the government over any perceived concessions.
As delegates settled into closed-door sessions Monday afternoon, side meetings buzzed with bilateral agendas. Erdoğan and al-Sisi discussed bolstering Turkey-Egypt ties strained by past Muslim Brotherhood disputes, while Macron and Merz coordinated on EU funding for Gaza's $50 billion reconstruction tab. Starmer, fresh from a Downing Street pledge of British engineering expertise for rebuilding, huddled with Carney on transatlantic aid synergies. Aboul Gheit and Guterres pushed for Arab League-UN alignment on refugee returns, a non-starter for Israel without normalization pacts.
Critics, however, decry the summit's optics over substance. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged enforceable commitments on war crimes probes, citing leaked Israeli military data indicating an 83% civilian death rate among Palestinians killed. "This is no victory lap," said a Hamas spokesperson via Al Jazeera from Doha. "Without addressing occupation and blockade, it's a pause, not peace." Palestinian activists in Ramallah protested Abbas's attendance, viewing the PA as sidelined by Trump's blueprint, which leaves open a reformed PA role but prioritizes technocratic oversight.
By evening, as the sun dipped behind Mount Sinai's silhouette, al-Sisi and Trump were set to deliver opening remarks, flanked by Abbas and regional heavyweights. Billboards along the Corniche proclaimed Sharm el-Sheikh the "City of Peace," their messages a defiant counterpoint to Gaza's ruins. Whether this summit forges a lasting accord or fractures under unresolved grievances remains the question of the hour. For the weary residents of Gaza—whose lives hang in the balance—one thing is clear: the world is watching, and history demands more than words.
