Israel Mediator states sign declaration on the Gaza war
The agreement between Israel and the Islamist Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been formally sealed by the mediating states at a ceremony in Egypt. The heads of state of the USA, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed a joint declaration in Sharm el-Sheikh which, according to Egypt, is intended to consolidate the ceasefire. The summit is intended to mark the end of the war in the Gaza Strip.
13.10.2025, 18:59
SDA
At the signing ceremony, Donald Trump, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat in a room with other heads of state and government behind them. Among them were German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II. The paper sets out "a whole series of rules and regulations" and is "very comprehensive", said Trump. The exact content was not initially disclosed.
"You are the only one capable of achieving peace in this region," said al-Sisi during a meeting with Trump shortly before the signing. He also asked Trump for support for a planned conference on the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which Egypt wants to organize together with Germany. According to Egypt, the conference is to take place in Cairo in November. However, an exact date has not yet been set.
However, there are still higher hurdles before a permanent ceasefire can be achieved. The details must now be negotiated in a second phase as part of Trump's peace plan for the Gaza Strip. However, Trump said that talks were already underway and that phase two had already begun.
In the first phase, the last remaining hostages from the Gaza Strip were released today in return for Palestinian prisoners, and the dead hostages are also expected to be handed over in Israel soon. Trump visited Israel before his stop in Egypt, where he met with hostage families and gave a speech in the Israeli parliament.
Trump presented his peace plan for Gaza two weeks ago and then put pressure on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and the release of hostages and prisoners. Even before the signing ceremony in Egypt, he announced that "eternal peace" was now imminent in the Middle East.
However, many observers see this assessment as premature and overly optimistic. As in previous negotiations over the past two years of war, there is still no agreement on a possible disarmament of Hamas, on the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and also on the question of whether Palestinian security forces or soldiers from other countries will secure the area in future.
