Three Qatari employees killed in car crash near Sharm el-Sheikh on eve of peace summit
Earlier reports that victims were diplomats are false, source says; Egyptian resort city will host peace summit on Monday following Israel-Hamas ceasefire
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Three employees of Qatar’s Amiri Diwan, its top government body, were killed in a car crash near Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Qatar’s embassy in Egypt said in a post on X in the early hours of Sunday.
The embassy said two others were wounded and were receiving necessary medical treatment at the city’s hospital. It said the injured and the bodies of the deceased would be repatriated later on Sunday to Doha.
“The deceased and injured will be transferred to Doha on a Qatari plane,” it said in a statement. “The two injured are currently receiving the necessary medical care at Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital.”
On Saturday, some reports had said that those killed in the crash were members of Qatar’s negotiating team, shortly after the adoption of a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
But a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel that those reports were false.
The source said the victims of the crash were Qatari security guards and protocol officers. They were part of the advance team of Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani.
The accident came a few days after officials from Qatar, Turkey and Egypt participated in indirect talks in Sharm el-Sheikh that led to the agreement between Israel and Hamas on the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza.
The car was reportedly en route to Sharm el-Sheikh, which is set to host a global summit on Monday aimed at finalizing the agreement. The summit will welcome a roster of world leaders and be chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The Times of Israel Community.