Cairo Peace Conference: Who’s Coming, What’s on the Agenda, and What’s at Stake

Cairo Peace Conference: Who’s Coming, What’s on the Agenda, and What’s at Stake

U.S.-brokered talks bring Israeli and Arab leaders together for first time since the Gaza war began

October 6, 2025 Cairo Delegations from across the Middle East and beyond are gathering in Cairo this week for what many diplomats are calling the most ambitious peace effort since the Gaza war reignited earlier this year. The conference, arranged under Egyptian auspices and backed by the United States, aims to translate a tenuous cease-fire into a framework for a longer-term political settlement.

While expectations are tempered, the mere presence of long-time adversaries in the same room has raised hopes that the region’s power brokers may finally be ready to consider a new security and governance arrangement for Gaza.

Who Will Be at the Table

Officials confirmed that delegations from Israel, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States will take part in the opening session on Tuesday. Representatives from the Palestinian Authority and a technical team affiliated with Hamas’s political wing are also expected to attend indirectly, through what one diplomat described as a “parallel channel” of communication managed by Qatari mediators.

• Israel will be led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi.

• The United States delegation will include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House envoy Jared Kushner, and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

• Egypt, as host, will be represented by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

• Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will also be in attendance.

• The United Nations, European Union, and Jordan have been invited as observers.

Notably, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to address the gathering via video link after personally brokering Netanyahu’s invitation last week.

What’s on the Agenda

Diplomats familiar with the draft agenda say discussions will focus on three major objectives:

1. Hostage and Prisoner Exchange:
   Negotiators hope to finalize a phased deal that would see Hamas release all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for the gradual transfer of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.

2. Interim Governance of Gaza:
   Talks will center on creating a temporary international oversight authority, potentially led by Egypt and supported by Arab League monitors, to manage humanitarian aid, policing, and border operations during a transition period.

3. Long-Term Reconstruction and Security Guarantees:
   A proposal is being circulated for a multibillion-dollar reconstruction fund, financed jointly by Gulf states, the European Union, and the U.S., contingent on verifiable demilitarization measures in Gaza.

A fourth, informal item on the sidelines involves exploring whether Saudi Arabia might re-enter normalization talks with Israel, suspended since the outbreak of violence.

High Stakes and Low Expectations

Diplomatic insiders say the Cairo meeting represents a last-ditch effort to consolidate the cease-fire before renewed hostilities or political collapse on either side.

“This is not about photo ops, it’s about preventing another war,” said Lina Farhat, a regional affairs analyst at the Brookings Doha Center. “But there’s little trust, and even less political space, for compromise right now.”

Even so, Trump administration officials have framed the gathering as a potential turning point, suggesting that incremental progress, such as an agreement on humanitarian corridors or international monitoring, could pave the way for deeper talks later this fall.

“We’re going to build this piece by piece,” one U.S. official told reporters. “Nobody is expecting a signature peace deal, but we’re creating momentum for diplomacy instead of missiles.”

Obstacles Ahead

There are several unresolved sticking points:

• Israel insists that any governing body in Gaza must exclude Hamas entirely.

• Hamas and its backers in Qatar and Turkey reject that condition, arguing that sidelining the group would make any arrangement untenable.

• The Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, fears being drawn into a settlement that legitimizes Hamas or erodes its already fragile credibility.

Further complicating matters, several Western officials privately expressed concern that internal Israeli politics, and Netanyahu’s reliance on far-right coalition partners, could limit his ability to endorse even modest concessions.

Egypt’s Pivotal Role

For Cairo, the stakes are both regional and domestic. Egypt has struggled for months to contain border tensions and prevent spillover violence in the Sinai Peninsula. Hosting the talks allows President Sisi to project statesmanship and reassert Egypt’s traditional role as the Arab world’s mediator.

“Egypt has always been the anchor of stability between Israel and Gaza,” said Mustafa el-Badry, a Cairo-based political commentator. “But the difference now is that the Americans are leaning on everyone equally, and that gives Sisi room to maneuver.”

The Road Ahead

If negotiators reach even a limited agreement on hostages or aid logistics, sources say the parties could reconvene later this month in Geneva or Amman for a second round of discussions on postwar governance.

While optimism remains thin, the sense among diplomats in Cairo is that the conference, by convening such a broad mix of adversaries, marks a rare diplomatic opening.

“It’s fragile and fraught,” said one senior European envoy, “but it’s the first serious attempt in months to move from fighting to talking. And that, in itself, is progress.”