Three Qatari diplomats lost their lives in a traffic accident close to Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh, as reported by sources on Sunday. The crash resulted in injuries to two other diplomats when their vehicle overturned on a bend approximately 50 kilometers away from the city.
This incident occurred shortly before a significant global summit in Sharm El Sheikh intended to finalize an agreement to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza.
It remains uncertain if the diplomats were members of Qatar’s negotiation team, which collaborated with Egyptian officials in Sharm El Sheikh to facilitate an initial agreement between Israel and Hamas regarding the initial phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan earlier in the week. The city is scheduled to host a worldwide summit on Monday to conclude an agreement aimed at resolving the Gaza conflict.
The upcoming Gaza peace summit, to be jointly led by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, will gather leaders from more than 20 nations, as per a statement released by the presidency on Saturday.
The primary objective of the summit is to bring an end to the Gaza conflict, reinforce endeavors for peace and stability in the Middle East, and inaugurate a new era of regional security, aligning with President Trump’s vision for achieving peace in the region and his continuous endeavors to resolve global disputes.
On the other hand, Hamas declared that it would not participate in the official signing of the Gaza peace agreement in Egypt, citing disagreements with certain aspects of Trump’s plan, as stated by a senior leader to AFP. Hamas leaders also dismissed suggestions for their members to exit the Gaza Strip under the plan, labeling them as “absurd,” as per a report by the Times of Israel.
President Trump announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had reached an agreement on the initial phase of a 20-point plan unveiled on September 29. The plan focuses on securing a ceasefire in Gaza, facilitating the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, and overseeing a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
The first phase of the agreement became effective at 12 noon local time (0900 GMT) on Friday. The subsequent phase of the peace plan aims to establish a new governing system in Gaza, form a security force comprising Palestinian personnel along with troops from Arab and Islamic nations, and ensure the disarmament of Hamas.