KEY POINTS
- Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold ahead of Monday’s peace summit in Egypt.
- The agreement aims to end two years of Israeli offensive that killed over 67,682 Palestinians since Oct 2023.
- US Centcom chief says no US troops will be deployed in Gaza.
- Around 200 US troops have arrived in Israel to help monitor the Gaza ceasefire.
- Israel has begun transferring Palestinian prisoners ahead of a planned exchange.
- Civil defence says more than 500,000 displaced residents have returned to Gaza City since the ceasefire began.
- A Hamas official rejected the proposed disarmament under the peace plan, calling it “non-negotiable.”
- The UK, France, and Germany urged the UN Security Council to back Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
- Ishaq Dar held talks with counterparts from Egypt, Iran, and Azerbaijan ahead of the Gaza summit.
CAIRO, Egypt: A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continued on Saturday as world leaders prepared to attend an international summit in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh for the signing of a US-brokered Gaza peace deal aimed at ending two years of Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 67,682 Palestinians since October 2023.
The summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, will bring together key Muslim and Western leaders to endorse the peace plan and lay the groundwork for Gaza’s reconstruction and post-war governance.
The head of the US Central Command (Centcom), Admiral Brad Cooper, on Saturday said he visited Gaza to discuss post-conflict stabilisation efforts under Trump’s peace plan. He said that no American combat troops will be deployed in the Palestinian territory.
In a post on X, Cooper said he had just returned from Gaza after discussions on creating a Centcom-led “civil-military coordination centre” aimed at supporting “conflict stabilisation and humanitarian coordination.”
“This effort will help coordinate multinational support for Gaza’s recovery,” Cooper wrote, adding that “America’s sons and daughters in uniform are answering the call to deliver peace in the Middle East in support of the Commander in Chief’s direction in this historic moment.”
Statement from Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander: pic.twitter.com/1TeByRzPoF
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 11, 2025
According to AFP, an initial deployment of 200 US troops has already begun arriving in Israel to help monitor the Gaza ceasefire, which took effect on Friday under Trump’s 20-point peace plan.
The US military will coordinate a multinational task force likely to include troops from Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates, AFP reported.
Trump Says Gaza Ceasefire Will “Hold”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, President Trump said he believed the truce between Israel and Hamas would hold because “both sides are tired of the fighting.”
“It’ll hold. I think it’ll hold. They’re all tired of the fighting,” Trump said, confirming plans to travel to Israel and then to Egypt for Monday’s international summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Trump said he would address the Israeli parliament before joining other leaders in Cairo, where he and el-Sisi will co-chair a summit to formalise the Gaza peace agreement.
“Now we have some little hot spots, but they’re very small… Those fires are going to be put out very quickly,” he said.
Israel Transfers Prisoners Ahead of Exchange
Israel has started transferring Palestinian prisoners to two jails in preparation for their release under the Gaza ceasefire deal, which also includes the handover of Israeli captives held by Hamas.
“Thousands of staff, including prison officers, operated throughout the night in order to implement the government’s decision: ‘The framework for the release of all Israeli hostages’,” the Israeli Prison Service said in a statement quoted by Al Jazeera.
Under the truce, Israel is to release 250 prisoners, including some serving life sentences, in exchange for Hamas freeing 48 Israeli hostages, both living and deceased. Another 1,700 Palestinians detained during the war will also be released.
The transferred inmates are being held at Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank and Ketziot Prison in southern Israel, pending a final decision from the Israeli government to proceed with the exchange.
Gaza Residents Returning to Ruined Homes After Ceasefire
As the ceasefire began on Friday, AFP reported long lines of displaced Palestinians walking north from Khan Younis towards their destroyed homes.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said more than 500,000 people have already returned to Gaza City since the truce took effect.
“We’re going back to our areas, full of wounds and sorrow, but we thank God for this situation,” said Ameer Abu Iyadeh, a resident of Khan Younis.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, at least 67,682 Palestinians have been killed and more than 170,000 wounded since Israel launched the devastating bombardment campaign on October 7, 2023.
Rescue teams recovered more than 150 bodies from under the rubble in the first 24 hours after the bombardment stopped, Gaza’s civil defence stated on Saturday.
Hamas Rejects Disarmament Proposal
A senior Hamas official, cited by AFP, said that disarmament under the US peace plan was “out of the question.”
“The proposed weapons handover is not negotiable,” the official said. The US plan’s second phase calls for Hamas to decommission its weapons in exchange for amnesty and safe passage for members wishing to leave Gaza.
Egypt to Host Peace Summit on Monday
The Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh will host an international summit on Monday to mark the formal signing of the Gaza peace deal.
The event, co-chaired by Trump and el-Sisi, will bring together leaders and foreign ministers from across the Muslim and Western world.
Diplomatic sources confirmed invitations have been extended to representatives from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Dr Badr Abdelatty spoke by phone with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss the summit.
According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, Dar was officially invited to attend the signing ceremony and participate in regional coordination efforts.
Dar also held separate calls with the foreign ministers of Iran and Azerbaijan to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and preparations for the Sharm el-Sheikh summit.
Global Support for Trump’s Peace Plan
In a joint statement, the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — collectively known as the E3 — urged the UN Security Council to give its “full backing” to the US-brokered peace plan.
“We agree that the UN Security Council should give its full support to the plan and its implementation,” the statement said, as Israel began withdrawing its troops from Gaza.
Diplomats and humanitarian officials say the coming days will test whether the truce can pave the way for long-term peace and reconstruction in Gaza after two years of the devastating Israeli bombardment campaign.
A senior Hamas official, Mousa Abou Marzouq, cited by Al Jazeera, said that the first prisoner exchange could begin as early as Monday.
“We will not militarise or celebrate the handover. This is a time for restraint,” he said.
