Turkish president heads to Egypt to attend Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit on Gaza

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday departed for Egypt aboard the presidential aircraft to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit on Gaza.

Erdogan was seen off at Esenboga Airport in the capital Ankara by Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Presidential Chief of Staff Hakki Susmaz, and Ankara Governor Vasip Sahin.

Accompanying the president were Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, National Intelligence Organization head Ibrahim Kalin, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, and Akif Cagatay Kilic, his chief advisor on foreign policy and security.

Erdogan will attend the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on the invitation of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and US President Donald Trump to discuss the recently reached ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

He is expected to deliver an address at the summit and hold consultations with participating world leaders.

Egypt said the summit aims "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."

Trump announced Wednesday that Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas had agreed to the first phase of his 20-point plan aimed at implementing a ceasefire in Gaza. The plan includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

Phase two of the plan envisions the creation of a new governing body in Gaza, excluding Hamas, the deployment of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,800 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, leaving the enclave largely uninhabitable.