Half a million Palestinians returned to the devastated city of Gaza on Saturday, the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which set Monday morning as the date to begin handing over hostages. The same day, an international summit on Gaza is held in Egypt under joint American-Egyptian leadership.

On Saturday evening, the Egyptian presidency announced the holding of an international summit on Gaza on Monday, chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his American counterpart Donald Trump, with wide international participation.

The Egyptian presidency statement said: “An international summit titled (Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit) will be held on Monday, October 13, 2025, under joint chairmanship” between el-Sisi and Trump.

Among the prominent confirmed participants are United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

No announcement has yet been made regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s participation in the summit, while Hamas Political Bureau member Hossam Badran told AFP in an exclusive interview that “Hamas will not participate” in the signing process on Monday in Egypt, which will be limited to “mediators and American and Israeli officials.”

Death of 3 Qatari Diplomats in Car Accident Near Sharm El-Sheikh

The Qatari embassy in Cairo announced on the social media platform X on Sunday that three employees of the Amiri Diwan died in a car accident near Sharm El-Sheikh.

The embassy expressed “deep sorrow for the death of three members of the Amiri Diwan and is following up on the condition of the injured in a traffic accident in Sharm El-Sheikh.”

It said two others were injured and are receiving necessary medical care at Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital.

Israel “Not Responding”

On Monday, Hamas will also begin releasing 48 hostages, according to movement leader Osama Hamdan in an interview with AFP.

However, he pointed out that Israel “is not responding on the issue of releasing” some Palestinian prisoners.

The agreement includes exchanging the remaining 47 hostages in Gaza out of 251 kidnapped in the October 7, 2023 attack, plus the remains of a hostage held in 2014, in exchange for Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons by 9:00 GMT Monday.

Israel will release 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment and 1,700 detainees from Gaza held since the outbreak of the war.

Israeli authorities announced Saturday that they have gathered the detainees expected to be released in two prisons in exchange for the hostages in Gaza.

US envoy Steve Witkoff, who visited Gaza earlier Saturday with US President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, said, “You are coming home,” referring to the hostages.

He addressed their families gathered in Tel Aviv, saying, “Your courage shook the world,” amid chants of “Thank you Trump” from the crowd.

Meanwhile, activist Einav Zangawker, during a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday, said, “We will continue chanting and fighting until everyone returns home.” Her son, Matan Zangawker, 25, is believed to be one of the twenty hostages still alive.

Weapon Surrender “Not an Option”

After the release of hostages and detainees, the arrangements for the next phases are expected to become more complicated.

Hossam Badran told AFP in an exclusive interview in Doha that the second phase of negotiations “is not as easy as the first phase.”

He said, “We hope not to return to this phase (war), but (…) without a doubt, if this battle is imposed, Hamas will confront and exert all its capabilities to repel this aggression.”

Meanwhile, an unnamed Hamas official confirmed that “the issue of weapon surrender is off the table and not considered.”

Hamas Political Bureau member Basem Naeem told Sky News in English: “We will not surrender our weapons… (except) when we have an independent sovereign state capable of defending itself.”

Trump’s plan also calls for a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the establishment of an international force to provide security in the sector.

In this context, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Admiral Brad Cooper said Saturday he visited Gaza to discuss ways to establish stability in the post-war phase, while confirming that no US forces will be deployed in Palestinian territories.

This statement came a day after senior US officials announced that Washington will send a team of 200 US military personnel to the Middle East to “oversee” the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.