Overview

• Egypt’s presidency initially confirmed Benjamin Netanyahu would attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit before Israel announced about 40 minutes later that he would not, citing the start of Simhat Torah.
• Iraq’s delegation warned it would not participate if Netanyahu came, and an adviser to the Iraqi prime minister said other delegations also signaled plans to withdraw.
• Turkey’s state media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plane circled over the Red Sea until Netanyahu’s absence was confirmed, and a Turkish diplomatic source credited Ankara’s push with the outcome.
• Anonymous diplomatic sources told AFP that several governments did not want to be photographed with Netanyahu, which they said contributed to the reversal.
• U.S. President Donald Trump had invited Netanyahu and urged his attendance in calls with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and the Israeli leader, underscoring the difficulty of convening regional leaders with Israel during the Gaza war.