Cairo peace summit grapples with Gaza

Egypt opens a summit on the Gaza crisis on Saturday to try to head off a wider regional war but assembled Middle Eastern and European leaders are expected to struggle to agree a common position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants.
Two diplomats said it was unlikely there would be a joint statement from the gathering because of sensitivities around any calls for a ceasefire, and whether to include mention of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s right to defend itself.
The absence of a top official from Israel’s main ally the United States and some other major Western leaders has cooled expectations for what the hastily-convened event can achieve.
The U.S., which has no ambassador currently assigned to Egypt, is represented by its embassy Charge d’Affaires.
The summit meets as Israel prepares a ground assault on Gaza following Hamas’ attack that killed 1,400 people. More than 4,100 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s counteroffensive, amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.