President Donald Trump joined more than 20 world leaders in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on Monday to discuss the future of Gaza as the first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas is underway.
Among those gathered for the summit were Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as officials from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
The group posed for a family photo in front of a sign reading “Peace 2025” before a signing ceremony related to the ceasefire agreement.
Trump, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, with world leaders seated behind them, formally signed the document that Trump said would “detail many rules and regulations.” and many more things.”
“This took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it? And it’s going to hold up too. It’s going to hold up,” Trump said in the middle of signing the document. The exact content of the document was unclear and has not yet been made available to the public by the White House.
President Donald Trump poses with the agreement signed at a summit of world leaders to end the Gaza war, amid a prisoner-hostage exchange and a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Oct. 13, 2025.
Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters
President Donald Trump attends the signing ceremony at the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025.
Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock
Trump also delivered remarks touting the breakthrough as a turning point for the region.
“This is the day that people in this region and around the world have been working, struggling, hoping and praying. They have done things over the last month that I think were truly unthinkable. No one thought this could happen. With the historic agreement we just signed, those prayers of millions have finally been answered,” Trump said.
Noticeably absent from the signing ceremony and talks in Egypt, however, were representatives of Hamas and Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office cited the Jewish holiday as the reason for his absence, despite having been directly invited by President Trump.
World leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, pose for a family photo at a summit of world leaders on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025.
Yoan Valat/EPA/Shutterstock
Just hours earlier, Trump and Netanyahu praised each other as Trump addressed Israel’s parliament. Trump praised Netanyahu as “one of the greatest” wartime leaders and Netanyahu called Trump Israel’s “best friend” in the White House.
In the Knesset, Trump also declared a “new dawn in the Middle East” and said the war in Gaza was over, despite future challenges in ensuring lasting peace.
Hamas released the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages on Monday and Israel freed Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire deal, with emotional scenes in Tel Aviv and Gaza as families were reunited.
But many questions remain about what comes next, including to what extent President Trump will personally participate in shaping a postwar Gaza.
Trump said the second phase of his proposed peace plan is in progress, although he did not provide many details.
“Well, it started. I mean, it started as far as we’re concerned.” Trump said as he sat with El-Sisi upon his arrival in Sharm El-Sheikh. “The second phase has started. And, you know, the phases are a little bit mixed together. You’re going to start cleaning up. If you look at Gaza, it needs a lot of cleaning up.”
In his subsequent speech to world leaders, Trump added: “Now the rebuilding begins. The rebuilding may be the easiest part.” I think we’ve done a lot of the hardest part because the rest comes together. “We all know how to rebuild and we know how to do it better than anyone else in the world.”
President Donald Trump speaks during the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh on October 13, 2025.
Saúl Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi meets with President Donald Trump before a summit of world leaders on ending the Gaza war, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, October 13, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
The US president also appeared to set his sights on Iran, urging the country to take this opportunity to work with the administration on a peace deal.
“We are ready when you are ready and it will be the best decision Iran has ever made, and it will happen,” Trump said during his Knesset speech.
Trump reiterated that point while taking questions from reporters alongside Egypt’s president.
“I think Iran will come together. They’ve been battered and bruised. You know, they need some help. They have big sanctions, as you know, tremendous sanctions. I would love to lift the sanctions when they’re ready to talk,” Trump said.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow contributed to this report.
