On the shores of the Red Sea, more than twenty nations have gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to give formal shape to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — two parties conspicuously absent from the table. Co-chaired by Egypt's El-Sisi and a Trump who arrived fresh from Jerusalem, the summit seeks to transform a halted war into a durable peace, addressing troop withdrawals, disarmament, governance, and the reconstruction of a shattered territory. The diplomacy unfolds against a human backdrop of return and ruin, where Palestinians walk home to rubble and ask whether the architecture of peace
Gaza Peace Summit Convenes in Egypt With 20+ Nations; Israel, Hamas Absent
Thousands of Palestinians returning to Gaza homes destroyed in the conflict; many face displacement with limited shelter options.
My house was gone in a moment. Where will we go?
Mark
Why would Israel and Hamas skip their own peace summit? That seems backwards.
Mimi
They've already negotiated the ceasefire through mediators—Qatar, Egypt, Turkey. The summit isn't about hammering out the deal; it's about the world endorsing it and planning what comes next. Israel and Hamas are still deeply mistrustful of each other, even with an agreement in place.
Luke
But that's a real gap. We don't actually know what either side thinks about the reconstruction plans or the governance structure being discussed. We're hearing from twenty other countries, but not from the two parties most affected.
Mark
So what's actually being decided at this summit if the main players aren't there?
Mimi
The document El-Sisi's office mentioned—the one formally ending the war—that's being signed. And the details: how fast Israeli troops withdraw, how Hamas disarms, who runs Gaza afterward. The reconstruction funding. The timeline.
Luke
Those are enormous questions. And we're told they'll be discussed, but we don't have specifics on what the disagreements are or how they're being resolved without Israel and Hamas in the room.
Mark
What about the Palestinian Authority? Abbas is there. Isn't that the Palestinian voice?
Mimi
Technically, yes. But Abbas and the PA are unpopular with Palestinians themselves. The source says that plainly. So there's a legitimacy question baked in.
Luke
And Trump's "Board of Peace" with Tony Blair—that's mentioned but not explained. We don't know what it actually does or what authority it has.
Mark
What about the people going home? That's happening right now.
Mimi
Yes. Thousands are walking back into Gaza. Some are finding their homes destroyed. One man said his house of forty years was gone in a moment. He's asking where people will live.
Luke
That's the real test of whether this summit matters. Not the document signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, but whether those people have shelter in six months.
O Pulso
- A ceasefire exists on paper, but its survival depends on resolving questions — troop withdrawal timelines, Hamas disarmament, Gaza's future governance — that the two warring parties could not agree on even enough to attend the summit.
- The absence of Israel, Hamas, and Iran from the negotiating room is not a footnote but a structural wound: the people most responsible for the conflict are watching from outside while others draft the terms of its ending.
- Trump's co-chairmanship injects American weight into the process, but his reported frustration with Netanyahu and the administration's bombing of Iranian facilities have complicated the diplomatic geometry before talks even began.
- Britain pledged $27 million for water and sanitation and offered to host a reconstruction conference; Germany and Egypt plan a parallel event — gestures of commitment that underscore how vast and expensive the rebuilding task will be.
- On the ground, Palestinians are returning to Gaza on foot, finding homes reduced to rubble, and asking aloud whether they will spend the next twenty years in tents — a question the summit in its marble halls has yet to answer.
On the shores of the Red Sea, more than twenty nations have gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh to give formal shape to a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas — two parties conspicuously absent from the table. Co-chaired by Egypt's El-Sisi and a Trump who arrived fresh from Jerusalem, the summit seeks to transform a halted war into a durable peace, addressing troop withdrawals, disarmament, governance, and the reconstruction of a shattered territory. The diplomacy unfolds against a human backdrop of return and ruin, where Palestinians walk home to rubble and ask whether the architecture of peace can ever catch up to the weight of what was lost.
On October 13, Sharm el-Sheikh became the stage for one of the most consequential diplomatic gatherings since the Gaza war began. Egyptian President El-Sisi and US President Trump co-chaired a summit of more than twenty world leaders — Macron, Starmer, Erdoğan, UN Secretary-General Guterres, and Palestinian President Abbas among them — convened to formalize a ceasefire and chart a path toward reconstruction. Trump had arrived in the region having already met Netanyahu in Israel and addressed the Knesset, framing the effort around a twenty-point peace plan his administration has championed.
The summit's most striking feature was who was missing. Neither Israel nor Hamas sent representatives. Hamas said it had already negotiated through Qatari and Egyptian mediators and saw no need to attend. Israel's absence reflected deeper tensions: Trump reportedly urged Netanyahu to "take the win" when the Israeli Prime Minister resisted the ceasefire's terms, and fundamental mistrust between the two sides — over withdrawal timelines and the risk of Hamas exploiting the process — never fully dissolved. Iran, too, stayed away; its foreign minister cited US strikes on Iranian facilities and ongoing sanctions as reasons he could not engage.
The agenda was ambitious: Israeli troop withdrawal terms, Hamas disarmament, a governance framework for Gaza, and the reconstruction of a territory devastated by fifteen months of war. Britain announced a $27 million contribution for water and sanitation and offered to host a reconstruction conference. Germany's Merz, present despite his country's military ties to Israel and his own public concerns about Israeli conduct, plans a similar conference with Egypt. The Palestinian Authority — Hamas's rival, led by Abbas — is positioned to play a role in Gaza's future administration, though it remains deeply unpopular among Palestinians on the ground.
While leaders deliberated in a Red Sea resort, Palestinians were already living the aftermath. Nabila Basa walked back into Gaza with her wounded daughter, calling the end of the war indescribable. Ahmed al-Jabari stood before the ruins of a house he had spent forty years building. "Where will we go?" he asked. "Will we live 20 years in a tent?" The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh carries the weight of that question — and the world is watching to see whether its diplomatic machinery can produce answers that reach all the way to the rubble.
Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is hosting a gathering of more than twenty world leaders on October 13, convened to formalize and advance a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The summit is co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, who arrived in Israel beforehand to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and address the Knesset. The meeting aims to produce what El-Sisi's office describes as "a document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" and to chart the next phases of what Trump has framed as a twenty-point peace plan.
The attendance list reads as a cross-section of global power: France's Emmanuel Macron, Britain's Keir Starmer, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, EU President António Costa, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, among others. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz is present despite his country's deep military ties to Israel; he has publicly expressed concern about Israel's conduct of the war and its stated intention to maintain military control of Gaza. India is represented by Kirti V Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi declined the invitation on short notice. Representatives from Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, and a dozen other nations round out the assembly.
What is conspicuously absent is equally telling. Neither Israel nor Hamas—the two parties whose agreement made the summit possible—will send representatives. Hamas stated it will not participate, saying it conducted negotiations "principally through Qatari and Egyptian mediators" and sees no reason to attend a summit about an accord it has already reached. Israel's absence is more complex. Trump reportedly grew frustrated with Netanyahu during negotiations, telling him to "take the win" when the Israeli Prime Minister initially resisted the terms. The two sides remain fundamentally suspicious: Hamas sought ironclad guarantees about Israeli troop withdrawal timelines and assurances against renewed invasion; Israel worried the militant group would exploit the peace process to its advantage. Iran, a backer of Hamas and regional adversary of Israel, is also absent. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media that neither he nor President Pezeshkian could "engage with counterparts who have attacked the Iranian people," referencing US bombing of Iranian facilities in June and the broader campaign of sanctions and pressure the Trump administration has pursued.
The summit's agenda centers on the mechanics of peace: the terms and timeline for Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza, the disarming of Hamas, the governance structure Gaza will adopt, and the reconstruction of a territory devastated by fifteen months of war. Starmer announced a British donation of twenty-seven million dollars for water and sanitation in Gaza and said the UK will host a three-day reconstruction conference. Merz plans to co-host a similar conference with Egypt. The Palestinian Authority, run by Hamas rival Fatah and led by Abbas, is expected to play a role in Gaza's future administration, though the PA remains deeply unpopular among Palestinians themselves. Trump has floated a "Board of Peace" that would include Tony Blair, and PA Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh has signaled readiness to work with this framework on aid delivery, prisoner exchanges, and the broader peace process.
Meanwhile, the human reality on the ground is unfolding in real time. Thousands of Palestinians have begun the journey back into Gaza as the ceasefire holds. Nabila Basa, traveling on foot with her daughter—who sustained a head wound during the fighting—described the moment as indescribable. "We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended," she said. But the return is shadowed by devastation. Ahmed al-Jabari stood in the ruins of Gaza City, looking at the wreckage of a house he had built forty years ago. "My house, which I built 40 years ago, was gone in a moment," he said. "I'm happy that there is no blood, no killing (but) where will we go? Will we live 20 years in a tent?" The summit convenes as these questions hang over the enclave—questions about shelter, about reconstruction, about whether the diplomatic machinery assembled in Sharm el-Sheikh can translate into the material reality Palestinians will need to rebuild.
Citações Notáveis
It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God. We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended.— Nabila Basa, Palestinian returning to Gaza with her daughter
My house, which I built 40 years ago, was gone in a moment. I'm happy that there is no blood, no killing (but) where will we go? Will we live 20 years in a tent?— Ahmed al-Jabari, Gaza City resident surveying his destroyed home
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Politics & Governance