Overview

• The United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey signed a declaration to formalize the first phase of a U.S.-backed 20‑point Gaza ceasefire plan in Sharm el‑Sheikh, attended by more than two dozen world leaders.
• Hamas released the last 20 living hostages as Israel freed about 1,968 prisoners, enabling expanded aid deliveries and planning for reconstruction, according to Israel’s prison service and summit statements.
• Key issues remain unsettled, including Hamas disarmament, the scope and sequencing of Israeli withdrawals, and the mechanics and legitimacy of proposed transitional governance for Gaza.
• A proposed internationally supervised structure, including a mooted “Board of Peace” to oversee reconstruction and governance, has prompted questions over who selects decision‑makers and how authority would be exercised.
• Neither Israel nor Hamas was represented at the signing, as Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el‑Sisi called the plan a last chance for peace and awarded President Trump the Order of the Nile; Gaza’s devastation was underscored by a death toll of at least 67,000 reported by local health authorities.