Political leaders from around the world have convened in Egypt to sign a ceasefire deal in Gaza, led by United States President Donald Trump and mediated by partners including Egypt, Qatar, and Türkiye.
"A new and beautiful day is rising, and now the rebuilding begins," Trump said, praising regional leaders who helped cement the truce between Israel and Hamas.
Israel is set to release 250 Palestinian prisoners and more than 1,700 other Palestinians detained during the two-year military operations in Gaza in exchange for the last 20 living hostages held by Hamas.
This is part of the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan and is also due to include the return of 28 dead Israeli hostages.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi called the day a "historic milestone that ends an agonising chapter".
Trump said the second phase of negotiations are underway.
“Phase two has already started. The phases are all a little bit mixed in with each other. You can start cleaning up. You look at Gaza, it’s a lot of clean-up,” Trump said.
The U.S. has already asked wealthy Arab states to commit large sums to rebuilding Gaza, with estimated reconstruction costs reaching more than US$30 billion.
