MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gaza: World leaders gather at Sharm el-Sheik to sign ceasefire deal

During a summit at the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, co-chaired by Presidents Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Donald Trump, bringing together leaders and dignitaries from over 30 nations and organizations, a ceasefire was signed on Monday to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was among the attendees, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu skipped the occasion, citing a religious festivity, and the leaders of the pro-Palestine terrorist organization Hamas claimed they were acting through Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

Saudi Arabia was represented by a delegation led by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. Other notable attendees included Abdullah II (King of Jordan), Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Türkiye) and Emmanuel Macron (France), Prime Ministers Keir Starmer (United Kingdom), Pedro Sánchez (Spain), and Georgia Meloni (Italy), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, in addition to Government Chiefs from Iraq and Pakistan and United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The gathering was convened to end the war in the Gaza Strip, reinforce efforts to establish peace and stability in the Middle East, and open a new page of regional security, it was explained.

The summit took place following a ceasefire that came into effect after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Reports mention issues with the agreement, as Hamas has only handed over the bodies of some of the deceased but not all of them, leading to accusations of ceasefire violation from Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz. With the handover of four bodies, Hamas is not fulfilling its obligations; it must return all 28 dead; any delay or deliberate avoidance will be considered a gross violation of the agreement and responded to accordingly, Katz warned.

The Association of Families of Hostages had previously made a similar statement. “We expect the Israeli government and the mediators to take immediate action to remedy this grave injustice.” On Monday morning, Hamas released the 20 Israeli hostages who were still alive.The Association of Families of Hostages urged both the Israeli government and international mediators to act swiftly to correct what they described as a profound injustice. Earlier Monday, Hamas released the remaining 20 Israeli hostages who were still alive.

Meanwhile, Israel reportedly released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu thanked Trump for his efforts toward peace, following his visit to Tel Aviv earlier Monday and his participation in a Knesset session.