Egypt: Trump urges world leaders to seize momentum for peace at Gaza peace summit

United States President Donald Trump called for a new era of harmony in the Middle East during a global summit on Gaza’s future co-chaired with Egypt’s Abdel Fattah al Sissi in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday.

World leaders representing nearly three dozen countries joined the summit to try to advance broader peace in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited but declined, with his office saying it was too close to a Jewish holiday.

The meeting took place as Israel and Hamas traded hostages and prisoners as part of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.

"This is a monumental day. This is a monumental moment in the history of the world beyond the Middle East," Trump said.

Trump, el-Sissi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed a document that Trump said would lay the groundwork for Gaza's future.

“Today, Egypt and its Arab and Islamic allies confirm that peace remains our strategic choice, and that experience over the past decades has proven that this choice can only be based on justice and equality of rights," el-Sissi said.

Despite unanswered questions about next steps in the Palestinian enclave, which has been devastated during the conflict, Trump is determined to seize an opportunity to chase an elusive regional harmony.

Trump’s Middle East tour also included an address to the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, in which he declared Israel's war on Gaza to be over and called for peace.

“You’ve won,” he told Israeli lawmakers. “Now it is time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.”

Trump promised to help rebuild Gaza, and he urged Palestinians to “turn forever from the path of terror and violence.”

“After tremendous pain and death and hardship," he said, "now is the time to concentrate on building their people up instead of trying to tear Israel down.”

Israel's two-year ground and air assaults on Gaza have killed over 67,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.

A UN report released in September found that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.