US President Trump will visit the Middle East on Monday, October 13th, starting with a visit to Israel where he will deliver a speech at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. He will then head to Egypt to host the Middle East Peace Summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
Trump is scheduled to speak at the Knesset in Israel at 11 am local time, less than two hours after his arrival in Tel Aviv. Following this, he will proceed to Egypt and participate in the signing ceremony of the peace agreement at 2:30 pm local time in Sharm-el-Sheikh. Subsequently, Trump, alongside Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, will co-chair the Peace Summit to discuss peace issues in the Gaza Strip and the broader Middle East region.
Last Wednesday, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement to release remaining Israeli hostages and cease the Gaza conflict.
Under Trump’s mediation, Israel and Hamas have begun implementing the initial phase of the agreement aimed at permanently ending the Gaza conflict that erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages in Gaza. The two-year-long conflict resulted in thousands of Palestinian deaths in Gaza.
In addition to the US, countries like Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey have actively participated in mediation efforts to eventually reach a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, Trump has urged Israel to seize the opportunity to establish lasting peace in this turbulent region.
The White House stated that Arab and Muslim nations are once again focusing on resolving the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, deepening their ties with the US in some cases, which further boosts efforts towards Middle East peace.
The Peace Summit on Wednesday will take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh, the negotiating site for the Gaza ceasefire agreement. The Egyptian government referred to it as the “Sharm-el-Sheikh Peace Summit” in a statement, aiming to comprehensively end the Gaza conflict and further promote peace and stability in the Middle East region. Leaders from over twenty countries will attend the summit.
Based on official statements from various countries, leaders such as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, among others, will travel to Egypt to attend the signing ceremony of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. European Council President António Costa will also be present at this Peace Summit.