Trump says US wants to end war in Gaza in meeting with Arab, Muslim leaders

CAIRO – 24 September 2025: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday underlined the importance of his meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders to end the war in Gaza, saying Washington would continue engaging with Israeli officials to resolve what the long-running fighting.

Speaking at a gathering with Arab and Muslim leaders overnight on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump said the war in Gaza must end and captives held there must be freed.

“We want to end the war in Gaza. We’re going to end it. Maybe we can end it right now,” Trump told reporters at the beginning of the meeting.

He noted that most captives had already been released and that the remainder would be recovered alive or dead.

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani attended the meeting, alongside Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

Trump said the participating countries could play a role in securing the captives’ release, praising Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for his efforts in recent weeks.

Calling the meeting his “most important,” Trump said that although he had convened 32 meetings, this one was the most significant for him as it addressed a crisis that “should never have begun in the first place.”

For his part, Sheikh Tamim thanked Trump for holding this meeting, stressing the need to help Palestinians in Gaza and end the war.

“The situation in Gaza is dire, and we are relying on President Trump to stop the war and return the hostages,” he said.

Also attending were US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Egypt Today contributed to the report.