Qatari Diplomats Killed in Car Crash Before Gaza Summit in Egypt
Three Qatari officials were killed and two injured in a car crash near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, while preparing for a Gaza peace summit.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - In a tragic incident that has cast a somber shadow over a week of intense and ultimately successful diplomatic efforts, three members of Qatar's Amiri Diwan, the nation's top government body, were killed in a horrific car crash on Sunday near the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The officials, who were part of a protocol team, were traveling to the city to participate in the preparations for a high-level international peace summit aimed at finalizing the Gaza ceasefire agreement when their vehicle overturned.
The accident, which also left two other Qatari officials injured, has been met with expressions of deep sorrow from Doha and has prompted immediate and close coordination between the Qatari and Egyptian authorities to manage the aftermath of the tragedy.
The Embassy of the State of Qatar in Cairo officially confirmed the deaths in a statement released on Sunday on its X account, expressing its "deep sorrow and grief" for the loss of the three officials who, it stated, were "performing their work duties" at the time of the accident.
As reported by Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sky News Arabia, the deceased were identified as Saud bin Thamer Al Thani, Abdullah Ghanem Al-Khayarin, and Hassan Jaber Al-Jaber. The two injured officials were named as Abdullah Issa Al-Kuwari and Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Buainain.
According to multiple reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and Sky News Arabia, the accident occurred on the international road in South Sinai, approximately 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Two Egyptian security sources, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, stated that the official car carrying the Qatari delegation overturned on a curve in the road. Egyptian state-linked media outlet Al-Qahera News, as cited by Agence France-Presse (AFP), reported that the vehicle was carrying five Qataris and an Egyptian driver when the crash occurred, attributing the cause to "a loss of control of the steering wheel."
The accident was devastating, with three of the delegation members killed instantly and two others seriously injured.
The two injured officials were immediately transported to Sharm El-Sheikh International Hospital to receive the necessary medical care. The Qatari embassy in Cairo confirmed that both Abdullah Issa Al-Kuwari and Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Buainain were "currently receiving the necessary medical care" and were being closely monitored.
Sky News Arabia reported that the two injured individuals were in intensive care.
The response from both the Qatari and Egyptian authorities was swift and coordinated. The Qatari embassy in Cairo stated that it "immediately began following up on the accident with the concerned Egyptian authorities."
A central part of this coordination has been the repatriation of the deceased and the injured back to Doha. The embassy confirmed that "the deceased and the injured will be transported to Doha on a Qatari plane today (Sunday)."
In its official statement, the Qatari embassy expressed its "sincere condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the families of the deceased, asking God Almighty to cover them with His vast mercy and admit them to His spacious gardens, and to grant the injured a speedy recovery."
The embassy also made a point to express its gratitude to its Egyptian counterparts for their assistance in the wake of the tragedy. The statement extended "its thanks and appreciation to the concerned authorities in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt for their cooperation, keenness, and interest in following up on the accident and providing the necessary facilities."
The Egyptian authorities have reportedly launched a detailed investigation to determine the exact causes of the accident.
The tragedy occurred at a moment of intense diplomatic activity centered on Sharm el-Sheikh, a city that has been a hub of negotiations for weeks. The Qatari delegation was in Egypt to prepare for a major international peace summit scheduled to begin on Monday.
This summit, which will be co-chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is intended to put the final touches on the comprehensive agreement aimed at ending the more than two-year-long war in the Gaza Strip.
According to a statement from the Egyptian presidency cited by the Associated Press, more than two dozen world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, are expected to attend.
Qatar, alongside fellow mediators Egypt and the United States, has played a pivotal and indispensable role in the months of painstaking talks that have led to the current ceasefire, which officially came into effect on Friday.
The presence of the Qatari protocol team in Sharm el-Sheikh was a direct reflection of the nation's deep and ongoing involvement in the peace process.
