The Egyptian capital, Cairo, is hosting a high-profile international conference this Saturday to discuss the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
This comes as Israel prepares for a ground assault on Gaza in a conflict that has claimed more than 4,100 Palestinian and 1,400 Israeli lives. The summit coincides with mounting tensions on the Lebanon-Israeli border, where there have been an exchanges of strikes.
The aim of the gathering, the Egyptian presidency stated on 15 October, is to discuss recent developments in the Gaza crisis and the future of the Palestinian issue.
Attendees at the Cairo Peace Summit include:
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi;
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas;
Jordan's King Abdullah II;
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa;
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani;
Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah;
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani;
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan;
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni;
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez;
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis;
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides;
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa;
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock;
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna;
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa;
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs James Cleverly;
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide;
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov;
China's envoy for Middle East issues Zhai Jun;
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres;
European Council President Charles Michel;
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Notably, Israel will reportedly skip the event.
Furthermore, whether the United States - whose president visited Tel Aviv this week to offer his administration's "unwavering support" to Israel in the IDF's unprecedented daily bombardment and blockade of Gaza, home to 2.3 million people - intends to take part remains uncertain.
On 7 October, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (Hamas), launched a large-scale surprise rocket offensive from Gaza, breaching the border and taking captives. The movement said its operation, known as the "Flood of Al-Aqsa", was a response to continued provocations by the Jewish state.
Israel responded with retaliatory strikes and a "total blockade" of the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity, and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the area.