Palestinians walk on road returning to Gaza city, near the central Gaza Strip on October 10, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair an international summit to discuss the US president’s proposal to end Israel’s war on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday, Al Jazeera reported on Sunday. 

The meeting will involve leaders from more than 20 countries, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera. 

The UN secretary general António Guterres said he would attend, as will Britain’s prime minister Keir Starmer, his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, and Pedro Sánchez of Spain. The French president Emmanuel Macron has also confirmed his attendance, The Guardian reported on Sunday. 

It was not immediately clear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or any representatives of the Hamas Palestinian group, would attend, according to Al Jazeera. 

According to the statement of Egyptian Presidency, the international summit to be held in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh aims 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, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday. 

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas entered into effect on Friday, after three days of intensive negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh between the two sides, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US, according to Xinhua. 

Displaced Palestinians have begun returning from the southern part of the Gaza Strip to the north after the Israeli army announced that civilians are permitted to move through the coastal Rashid Road and Salah al-Din Road, Xinhua reported on Sunday. 

The first phase of the plan includes Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Younis, and the north, the opening of five crossings for aid, and the release of hostages and prisoners, Xinhua reported. 

A top official within Hamas told AFP that Israel would release nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for around 20 living hostages as part of the deal, according to The Times of Israel. 

Under the ceasefire and hostage release deal announced on Thursday, Hamas was given 72 hours - until 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday - to release all the 48 hostages it is still holding after two years of war, 20 of whom are assumed to be alive, BBC reported on Sunday. 

A Hamas source said on Friday the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt is expected to reopen in the middle of next week to allow limited movement of people, though details on operations have not yet been announced, Xinhua reported. 
More than two years of Israeli military operations have devastated Gaza, killing over 67,000 people and triggering famine, according to Gaza's health authorities, according to Xinhua. 

Global Times