US President Donald Trump declared Sunday that the "war is over in Gaza" as he headed on a high-stakes peace trip to Israel and Egypt.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One at the start of the "very special" visit, Trump brushed off concerns about the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

"The war is over. Okay? You understand that?" Trump, 79, said when asked if he was confident that the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas was finished.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -The Palestinian Authority is ready to work with U.S. President Donald Trump and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair on their effort to consolidate the Gaza ceasefire and start rebuilding, a senior Palestinian official told Blair on Sunday.

Trump's plan for ending the Gaza war holds out the prospect of the Palestinian Authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and led by President Mahmoud Abbas, eventually taking control of Gaza, but only after it completes reforms. Abbas lost control of Gaza to the Hamas militant group in 2007.

US President Donald Trump declared the Gaza war "over" on Sunday as he headed to the region to host a peace summit, while Hamas prepared to release surviving hostages after two years in captivity.

Under the US president's proposed roadmap, once the Palestinian militants have handed over the hostages, Israel will begin releasing around 2,000 detainees in exchange.

The United States, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey signed a declaration on Monday at a summit on Gaza as the guarantors of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending two years of war.

US President Donald Trump lauded the summit -- which he co-chaired with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi -- as a "tremendous day" for the Middle East, while Sisi said the Gaza deal opened a "new era of peace and stability" for the region.

Earlier on Monday, Trump gave a speech to Israel's parliament following the return of 20 surviving hostages held by militants in Gaza.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Steven Scheer and Alexander Cornwell

CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held in Gaza for a third day on Sunday ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and an address by U.S. President Donald Trump to Israel's parliament.

Thousands of Palestinians continued to travel north towards Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, hopeful the ceasefire would bring an end to the war.

(Reuters) -Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan on Sunday, Pakistani officials said, following exchanges of fire between the forces of the two countries.

Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani border posts late Saturday, with the country's ministry of defence saying this was in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan earlier in the week.

Pakistan said that it had responded with gun and artillery fire. Pakistani security officials said that a number of Afghan border posts were destroyed in retaliatory attacks.

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of people joined a pro-Palestinian rally in the business district of Australia's most populous city, Sydney, on Sunday, organisers said, after a court this week blocked a move to hold the protest at the Sydney Opera House.

Around 27 protests took place across Australia on Sunday, including in Melbourne and Sydney, said the organiser, the Palestine Action Group, which estimated a crowd of 30,000 at the Sydney rally. Police did not have a crowd estimate for the protest.

CAIRO (Reuters) -Three Qatari diplomats were killed in a car crash in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, two security sources told Reuters on Sunday.

Two diplomats were also wounded, the security sources said.

It's unclear if the diplomats were members of Qatar's negotiating team, which along with Egyptian officials in Sharm el-Sheikh helped yield earlier this week an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan for Gaza.

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Egypt to attend the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit, where leaders are expected to sign a U.S.-brokered peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza, his office said on Saturday.

The first phase of the plan is set to begin with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners by Monday, marking what Britain called a "historic turning point" after two years of war.

LONDON (Reuters) -British universities must take stronger action to protect Jewish students, the government said on Saturday, after a deadly attack on a synagogue in northern England and amid concerns over antisemitism on campuses in Britain and the United States.

Young people must be equipped to spot and challenge misinformation online, the government said, urging universities to use every tool available to confront hate and division.

"One instance of antisemitic abuse is one too many," education minister Bridget Phillipson said in a statement.