U.S., Egypt, Qatar, and T?rkiye Sign Agreement
Specific Details of the Document Not Disclosed
Leaders from Over 30 Nations Attend Summit
On the 13th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump declared, "Peace has finally come to the Middle East." However, skepticism remains as to whether Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas will fully implement the ceasefire agreement.
On the 13th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump is delivering a speech at the Gaza Peace Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Photo by AFP Yonhap News
According to AFP, during his speech at the Gaza Peace Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, President Trump said, "We have together achieved what everyone said was impossible."
President Trump referred to the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey under his Gaza peace initiative, introducing it as "the very agreement that many called 'the biggest deal that would never happen.'"
He went on to say, "Many warned that the escalation of the Middle East conflict could eventually lead to World War III," but emphasized, "That will not happen."
Prior to this speech, President Trump, along with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and other leaders of the mediating countries, signed the "Gaza Peace Declaration" to lay the foundation for the future of the Gaza Strip.
However, the specific details of the peace declaration were not made public. It is expected to include the contents of the first-phase agreement of the Gaza peace initiative between Israel and Hamas, which was reached on the 9th.
The signing of this peace declaration took place just hours after Hamas released all 20 surviving Israeli hostages as agreed, and Israel released 1,968 Palestinian prisoners in return. Previously, Israel and Hamas had reached the first-phase agreement based on President Trump's proposed Gaza peace plan. Following the agreement, Israeli forces withdrew from the agreed positions within the Gaza Strip, and on this day, Hamas released all 20 surviving Israeli hostages. This took place 737 days after they were abducted during Hamas's surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
The summit was attended not only by the mediators Egypt and Qatar, but also by leaders from Turkey, Jordan, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Palestinian Authority, and more than 30 countries from Europe and the Middle East. The parties to the ceasefire agreement, Israel and Hamas, did not attend. Although Iran was officially invited, it did not send a delegation.
The Financial Times reported, "The signing ceremony serves to confirm international support ahead of the anticipated challenging second-phase negotiations."
President Trump stated, "It took 3,000 years to get to this point," and added, "It's going to hold up." He repeatedly emphasized that the ceasefire agreement he brokered between Israel and Hamas was "the greatest deal ever."
However, despite President Trump's optimism, concerns remain over whether Israel and Hamas will faithfully implement the ceasefire agreement.
Bloomberg News reported that there is significant skepticism about the sustainability of the ceasefire, noting that even before President Trump finished his speech at the Israeli parliament, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that "Hamas did not keep its promise to return the remains of all deceased hostages by today."
The New York Times pointed out that President Trump did not address what is needed for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, the future of the Palestinian people, or how to balance between building a Palestinian state and seeking alternatives.
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