Germany says it looks forward to co-hosting Gaza reconstruction conference with Egypt

CAIRO – 10 October 2025: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that he looks forward to his country co-hosting, alongside Egypt, a planned reconstruction conference for Gaza.

After Hamas and Israel reached a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement to conclude two years of war, Merz expressed appreciation to US President Donald Trump and to the mediating parties: Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as to the Israeli government.

Israel on Friday approved the first phase of a Gaza agreement based on a peace plan proposed by Trump and enjoyed global support. The ceasefire was set to take effect immediately after approval.

Under the deal, the Israeli military has 24 hours to begin a partial withdrawal from Gaza, while Hamas will then have 72 hours to release all Israeli captives in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.

Once the agreement takes hold, aid convoys are expected to move into the famine-stricken enclave to assist its two million residents, most of whom have been displaced.

The breakthrough followed intensive negotiations between Hamas and Israeli delegations in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh, attended by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Major General Hassan Rashad, head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, and his Turkish counterpart, Ibrahim Kalin, also took part in the talks, along with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Trump’s 20-point peace plan includes provisions for rebuilding Gaza, which has been devastated by Israeli airstrikes.

Egypt has repeatedly affirmed its readiness to host an international conference on Gaza’s reconstruction and early recovery in Cairo once a ceasefire is in place.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said in a statement in September, the planned conference will be led jointly by Egypt, Germany, the United Nations, and the Palestinian Authority.