International leaders welcome Gaza truce
Wednesday’s announcement of an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, putting an end to more than 15 months of war, aroused the enthusiasm of international leaders.
The latter reacted generally relieved but remained cautious, calling for the agreement to be effectively implemented and pleading for large-scale humanitarian aid for Gazans.
Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi thus welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which he presented as the result of “more than a year of relentless Egyptian, Qatari and American”.
In a statement, he stressed “the importance of accelerating the entry of emergency humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza to address the current catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said it was “imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Gaza Strip so that we can sustain a major increase emergency humanitarian aid.
“For our part, we will do everything humanly possible, aware of the significant constraints and challenges we face, but we expect other humanitarian actors, the private sector and bilateral initiatives to match our efforts “, he added.
He particularly insisted on the establishment of a political process to “end the occupation and achieve a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, expressed “deep relief after so much unbearable pain and misery”.
“I am extremely relieved by the announcement of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza, and now it is imperative that it holds,” he said in a statement.
In Europe, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged both sides to “fully implement” the truce.
“This agreement brings hope to an entire region, where people have endured immense suffering for far too long,” she applauded on X. Ursula von der Leyen also praised “a first step towards a lasting stability in the region.
“This is a major and positive step forward towards the end of violence,” added the head of European diplomacy Kaja Kallas.
First to react on behalf of the European Union, Commissioner Dubravka Suica judged that this agreement would provide “necessary respite for those affected by this devastating conflict”.
Belgian Foreign Minister Bernard Quintin also called for the agreement to be respected. “The blood must stop,” he said in a statement.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also welcomed the agreement, saying it “is crucial to achieving regional stability.”
It “represents an essential step on the path to a two-state solution and a just peace that respects international law,” he wrote on X, adding that the agreement “should end the conflict, enable the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza to be addressed and all hostages to be released.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza could pave the way for a lasting end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
“This ceasefire opens the door to a permanent end to the war and an improvement in the precarious humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Mr. Scholz said on X, stressing that the agreement must now be “applied to the letter”.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the agreement in Gaza, “news that the Israelis and Palestinians were desperately waiting for”, was “long overdue”.
“They have borne the brunt of this conflict – triggered by the brutal Hamas terrorist attack,” he noted in a statement, adding that we must now focus on building “a lastingly better future (.. .) through a two-state solution.”
