The war in the Gaza Strip is over, announced US President Donald Trump, before leaving for his visit to Israel and Egypt, where he is expected today for a summit aimed at achieving peace in the Palestinian enclave, reported Agence France-Presse and Reuters, quoted by BTA.
"The war is over, do you understand that?", Trump told the media, in response to a question about the conflict between Israel and "Hamas".
He also promised that his visit "will be a very special moment".
"Everyone is looking forward to experiencing it," assured the US president.
Trump believes there is an opportunity to change the entire Middle East and renew long-stale relations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, the Associated Press notes.
It is a moment, according to the Republican president, helped by his administration's support for Israel's actions, which have defeated Iranian allies, including "Hamas" in Gaza and "Hezbollah" in Lebanon.
""I am very excited about this moment," Trump stressed before the departure of the presidential plane "Air Force One". According to him, many people in both Israel and Arab countries "applaud" the agreement reached with the support of his administration.
"Everyone is amazed and excited and we are going to have an incredible time," the US president added.
The Gaza summit, which will be held in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh this afternoon, will begin with a conversation between Egyptian and US Presidents Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Donald Trump, followed by a plenary session with the leaders and heads of state present, according to a preliminary program distributed to Egyptian media, reported Al Ahram.
After a group photo, al-Sisi and Trump will make statements outlining the goals of the forum and the next steps to maintain peace and facilitate humanitarian operations in Gaza. The program also includes bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the event, and the remaining items on the agenda are still being finalized.
The peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh attracted wide international participation, notes the newspaper “Al Ahram”. Pre-confirmed participants include, in addition to the President of the United States Donald Trump, the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, King Abdullah II of Jordan, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Prime Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
Other key figures include French President Emmanuel Macron, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Greece, Armenia, Hungary, Pakistan, Canada, Norway and Iraq Keir Starmer, Giorgia Meloni, Pedro Sanchez, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikol Pashinyan, Viktor Orban, Shehbaz Sharif, Mark Carney, Jonas Gar Støre and Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
We will Also attending are United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, India's Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, and Japan's Ambassador to Cairo Fumio Iwai.
The radical Hamas movement and other Palestinian factions, as well as representatives of Israel, will not be attending.
Surprisingly, despite initial reports, Saudi Arabia appears to be absent, Al Ahram notes.
The Iranian presidency announced that President Masoud Pezeshkian had declined an invitation from Egypt to participate in the summit. However, according to unconfirmed information, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will be present, the newspaper said.