Arab leaders, including Syria’s Sharaa, convene in Cairo to hash out alternate Gaza plan

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is among the Arab leaders heading to Egypt for an Arab League summit on countering US President Donald Trump’s widely condemned plan to depopulate Gaza, Syrian state media reports.

Sharaa, an Islamist rebel leader whose ascendancy has raised worries in Israel and elsewhere, arrived “to attend the extraordinary Arab Summit in Cairo on developments on the Palestinian issue,” state news agency SANA reports.

The summit hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is also expected to include the leaders of regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, whose support is seen as crucial for any postwar plan.

Egypt has developed an alternative plan in which Palestinians would be relocated to safe areas inside Gaza equipped with mobile homes and shelters while its cities are rebuilt. Hamas would cede power to an interim administration of political independents until a reformed Palestinian Authority can assume control.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, an opponent of Hamas, is attending the summit as well.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters the group rejects any attempt to impose projects or any form of non-Palestinian administration, or the presence of any foreign forces on Gaza Strip territory.

“We are keen for the success of the summit, and we hope that there will be a call to reject the displacement and to protect the right of our people in resisting the occupation and govern itself away from any custodianship and intervention,” he added.