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Egypt to Convene Global Leaders, Including Trump, in Sharm El-Sheikh on Gaza War Agreement

US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a previous meeting in New York (dpa file)
US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a previous meeting in New York (dpa file)
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Egypt to Convene Global Leaders, Including Trump, in Sharm El-Sheikh on Gaza War Agreement

US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a previous meeting in New York (dpa file)
US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a previous meeting in New York (dpa file)

Egypt will host an international peace summit in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday afternoon to finalize an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza, said an Egyptian presidency statement on Saturday.

The summit will be co-chaired by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump and attended by more than 20 leaders, the spokesperson added in a statement.

“The summit aimed to end the war on Gaza, bolster efforts to establish peace in the Middle East and open a new chapter in regional security and stability,” it added.

The summit is being held in “wake of Trump’s vision to achieve peace in the region and his efforts to end conflicts around the world.”

Israel will not send a representative to the summit.

"No Israeli official will attend," Shosh Bedrosian, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told AFP on Sunday.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected at the summit, the Elysee Palace said on Saturday.

The plan, brokered by Trump along with Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, aims to establish a permanent ceasefire, secure the release of all hostages and restore full humanitarian access to Gaza, the presidency said.

Macron will meet regional partners to discuss the next steps in carrying out the agreement, it added.

He will also reaffirm France’s commitment to a two-state solution as the basis for lasting peace, security and reconstruction in the region, the Elysee said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also attend the summit.

The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a "historic turning point" after two years of war.

Starmer is expected to call for continued international coordination to implement the next phase, which includes deploying a ceasefire monitoring mission and establishing transitional governance in Gaza.

He will reiterate Britain's "steadfast support" to help secure the ceasefire and deliver humanitarian aid.

Jordan's King Abdullah II, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and European Council President Antonio Costa are confirmed to attend the summit.

The Gaza ceasefire held in its second day as tens of thousands of Palestinians returned to their neighborhoods Saturday and Israelis cheered Monday's expected release of remaining hostages.

Israelis applauded Trump, and some booed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner addressed a weekly rally in Tel Aviv that many hoped would be the last.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.