Leaders from at least 27 countries assembled in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for an international summit focused on consolidating the Gaza ceasefire and considering the work needed beyond its first stage. The gathering followed the release of all remaining living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi jointly led the meeting. The participants included leaders from major Arab states and Europe, among them Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend.
On the summit’s sidelines, Sisi met the leaders of France and Turkey, Qatar’s emir and others to coordinate implementation of the ceasefire and reconstruction efforts, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency reported by The Guardian. The summit brought together governments with different relationships to Israel, Hamas and the mediators, giving the talks broad diplomatic reach but not resolving the difficult questions still attached to the agreement.
The ceasefire’s opening phase delivered an exchange with immediate consequences for families on both sides. The remaining 20 living Israeli hostages were released, while nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees were freed. The Guardian reported that 88 were transferred to the occupied West Bank and the others were sent to Gaza.
Before reaching Egypt, Trump addressed Israel’s parliament and presented the agreement as a decisive break with the war. The summit extended that message to a larger international audience. The ceremony’s optimism, however, did not alter the narrower terms already secured or supply the detailed arrangements still needed for later phases.
Attention then shifted to how a longer-term arrangement could be built. A BBC assessment described the agreement as a ceasefire and hostage-for-prisoner exchange, not a peace settlement. Its next phase still required detailed decisions on demilitarisation, security and the administration of Gaza. Those unresolved issues made the summit a starting point for implementation rather than proof of a final political settlement.
Humanitarian access and reconstruction were also central concerns. The territory had suffered extensive destruction, and international planning would have to address rubble removal, homes, infrastructure, education and healthcare. The summit’s composition offered a forum for coordinating that support, while the practical authority, funding and security conditions for rebuilding remained subjects for further negotiation.
The day combined public celebration of the hostage and prisoner releases with recognition that the truce remained limited. Sharm el-Sheikh gave mediators and supporting governments a chance to endorse the first stage together. Whether that diplomatic display could produce durable governance and security arrangements depended on agreements that had not yet been completed on October 13.
