US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi are chairing a gathering of world leaders called the Summit for Peace on Monday to support ending more than two years of war in Gaza after a breakthrough ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
Israel and Hamas have no direct contact and were not expected to attend Monday's summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he was unable to attend because a Jewish holiday starts on Monday.
The summit will bring together more than 20 leaders from the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Who is attending the summit?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim are attending. Qatar and Egypt, along with the US, have acted as mediators in efforts to stop the war. Turkey, which hosted Hamas political leaders for years, played a key role in bringing about the current ceasefire agreement.
King Abdullah II of Jordan is also there. His country, alongside Egypt, is training a Palestinian security force for Gaza.
The UAE, a major provider of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the war, will be represented by a delegation led by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will represent the kingdom. Other leaders from the region attending the summit include Bahrain’s King Hamad, Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and European Council President Antonio Costa are also attending.
Germany, one of Israel’s strongest backers and a leading supplier of military equipment, is represented by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He has expressed concern over Israel's conduct of the war and its plan for a military takeover of Gaza.
Britain and France, traditionally strong allies that have grown increasingly critical of Israel over the war, will be represented by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron, respectively. Mr Starmer has said he will pledge £20 million ($27 million) to help provide water and sanitation for Gaza and that Britain will host a three-day conference to co-ordinate plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and recovery.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre are the other European leaders attending the conference.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif are also expected to attend.
Although now known for luxury beach resorts, dive sites and desert tours, Sharm El Sheikh, at the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, has hosted many peace summits and rounds of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as other international conferences.
Monday’s gathering is the first peace summit to be held there under Mr El Sisi, who took office in 2014.
Israel occupied the Sinai Peninsula for a year in 1956 before withdrawing. A UN peacekeeping force was then stationed there until 1967. Israel seized the peninsula again that year after Egypt’s president Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the peacekeepers to leave.
The Sinai Peninsula were returned to Egypt in 1982, following a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
