Sharm el-sheikh: Egypt confirmed Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend a planned peace summit in the Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh. The Egyptian presidency stated that Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will participate in the summit, which is set to open later Monday.

According to Anadolu Agency, a presidency spokesman mentioned that the involvement of Netanyahu and Abbas is aimed at consolidating the ceasefire agreement to stop the war in Gaza and confirming their commitment to it. The announcement followed a report by the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth that Netanyahu had a phone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with US President Donald Trump also present.

More than 20 world leaders are anticipated to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, which will be co-chaired by Sisi and Trump. Egypt has expressed that the summit's purpose is to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to bring peace and stability to the Middle East, and usher in a new phase of regional security and stability.

The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement took effect on Friday under Trump's plan to end a two-year Israeli war on the enclave. Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have resulted in the deaths of more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.