A document to support the recently-reached Gaza ceasefire deal was signed in Sharm el-Sheikh on Monday by the four mediating countries, though neither Israel nor Hamas were present.

The document was signed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The summit, co-chaired by Presidents Sisi and Trump, brought together leaders from more than 20 countries, as well as representatives from regional and international organizations.

Egypt's presidency said discussions covered issues related to Gaza's governance, security and reconstruction.

Israel and Hamas were not represented at the summit, while the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates did not attend.

'A glimmer of hope'

"I welcome you all to the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, at this momentous and pivotal historical juncture, in which we have together witnessed the conclusion of the Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement to end the war in Gaza," Sisi said at the opening of the summit.

He described the agreement as "a glimmer of hope" to close a painful chapter in human history and open the door to a new era of peace and stability in the Middle East. This, he said, grants the region's peoples, who have been exhausted by conflicts, a better tomorrow.

Sisi reaffirmed support for the implementation of the ceasefire plan, saying that the agreement must be "solidified and all its phases implemented, leading to the realization of the two-state solution."

"Now the rebuilding begins," Trump said in his address, calling the Gaza deal "the greatest deal of them all."

The Israeli military later confirmed it had received all 20 hostages known to be alive after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross – prompting emotional celebrations among thousands gathered at Tel Aviv's "Hostage Square."

In Gaza, thousands of relatives, many weeping with joy, gathered at a hospital where buses brought home some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be freed by Israel as part of the accord.

Obstacles remain

The Israeli hostages freed on Monday were the last survivors among the 251 people abducted during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people and sparked the war.

The ceasefire and partial Israeli withdrawal agreed last week halted one of Israel's largest offensives of the conflict – an assault on Gaza City that had killed scores of people daily.

Formidable challenges remain, from securing a lasting ceasefire to be resolving the fate of 26 Israels hostages believed to have died and two whose fates remain unknown.

Hamas says recovering the bodies could take time, as not all burial sites are known.

Aid agencies have called for urgent humanitarian deliveries to the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of face famine. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said it was critical to "get shelter and fuel to people who desperately need it and to massively scale up the food, medicine and other supplies going in."

Fletcher announced an additional $11 million in aid funds to the Gaza Strip on Monday.

Beyond immediate relief, questions persist over how Gaza will be governed and policed, and over the future of Hamas, which continues to rejects Israel's demands to disarm.

(With input from agencies)