Bruno Finel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have publicly maintained a harsh tone against Israel since the October 7, 2023, attacks, but signs on the ground suggest a shift is underway. 

On the sidelines of the Aqaba Process meetings held Wednesday in Rome, King Abdullah II of Jordan held a bilateral discussion with Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Council of Togo. 

With the guns finally silent in Gaza and the hostages returning home, a fragile ceasefire opens the door to peace — and to a long-overdue reckoning. 

In a bold political statement, Lebanese MP Nadim Bachir Gemayel, a senior figure in the Kataeb Party, declared that the Iran-Syria axis has reached the end of its influence in the region. 

“The Franco-Saudi initiative, along with the New York Declaration endorsed by 142 states, created decisive momentum and paved the way for the peace plan signed today.”

In the short term, the mood is almost celebratory. Hostilities have paused, hostages have been returned, and the guns have fallen silent—at least for now. 

When a U.S. president of Donald Trump’s stature sets his sights on the Middle East, the global stage shifts. Monday’s summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Trump himself, is not merely a ceremonial close to the latest round of bloodshed in Gaza. 

On Monday, global attention will turn to Sharm el-Sheikh, as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump co-chair a high-level peace summit aimed at ending the war in Gaza. 

On Monday, a high-profile summit for peace in Gaza will convene in Sharm el-Sheikh, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump.

French President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Egypt on Monday, officially to “show support for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement presented by Donald Trump” between Israel and Hamas. 

Turkish Airlines is reportedly exploring the possibility of resuming flights to Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport in the coming weeks, signaling what could be a remarkable shift after nearly two years of frozen aviation ties between the two countries.

The recent agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough — and an early victory for U.S. President Donald Trump.