President Donald Trump opened a high-level summit in Egypt by hailing a Gaza cease-fire and the release of remaining living hostages.
He said his administration is moving on to the “second phase” of its effort to stabilize the area and rebuild after two years of violence. “It’s going to hold up,” Trump said reporters while standing next to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
He noted that the bodies of hostages who died in captivity have not yet been returned, and that the following steps will focus on rebuilding and making security arrangements.
Sisi met Trump on a red carpet when he got to Sharm el-Sheikh, and then they started talking with leaders from Europe and the region.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, and senior adviser Jared Kushner were all with the president, according to the White House.
In a message before the sessions, Sisi stated the summit brings together “the desire of the peoples” and the leaders’ will to end the war in Gaza. He also said, “Enough with war… “Welcome to peace,” the Egyptian presidency said.
A later summary said that there will be a smaller meeting of the King of Jordan, the presidents of France and Turkey, the Amir of Qatar, the chancellor of Germany, the prime ministers of Italy, the UK, and Canada, and the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia. The Egyptian Presidency said that the meeting was mostly about putting the deal to cease the fighting into action, speeding up humanitarian aid, and planning for rebuilding.
The presidency stated that Sisi told European nations to push all sides to follow through on the pact and to help train Palestinian police in Egypt and Jordan to improve law and order in Gaza. Participants also stressed the importance of cleaning up the garbage and decided to create a system to coordinate specific actions among the states that were there.
The presidency indicated that Sisi has plans to hold a “Cairo Conference for Early Recovery and Reconstruction” in November to get money and technical help. Trump saw the Sharm el-Sheikh negotiations as a way to move from fighting to rehabilitation. He said that security guarantees and economic initiatives will be important in the next phase. Diplomats stated that the short-term challenge is turning the cease-fire into lasting peace while relief convoys and engineers move in, because fighting has stopped and families are starting to reunite.
Longer-term problems like border restrictions, policing, and the order in which reconstruction happens will depend on whether the parties stick to the plan and whether funders follow through.
Trump added that the goal of the government is to keep the peace and “get Gaza rebuilt.” He also said that they are still working to find the bodies of people who died during the battle.
Aides said that the agenda for the meeting of leaders behind closed doors was centered on enforcement, assistance delivery, and the structure of Gaza’s civil government after essential services were restored.
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