World leaders gather in Egypt to throw their weight behind Gaza ceasefire deal

Source: Ap

World leaders gathered Monday in Egypt for a summit aimed at supporting the ceasefire reached in Gaza, ending the Israel-Hamas war and developing a long-term vision to rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.

Before the summit co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi and U.S. President Donald Trump began, el-Sissi hailed Trump as the “only one” able to bring peace to the region. Israel and Hamas came under pressure from the United States, Arab countries and Turkey to agree on the ceasefire’s first phase negotiated in Qatar through mediators. The truce began Friday.

But major questions remain over what happens next, raising the risk of a slide back into war. The gathering reflects the international will to follow through on the deal. More than 20 world leaders attended the summit, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the French president and the British prime minister.

Israel and Hamas have no direct contacts and were not expected to attend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not travel to the meeting because of a Jewish holiday, his office said. Trump headed to Egypt after a stop in Israel.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-israel-hamas-egypt-gaza-war-bb2d95ea815ef6a4a2771c46b73f1e11