PARIS: Nations around the globe welcomed on Wednesday the announcement that Israel and Hamas reached a deal to free prisoners and pause ferocious bombardment in Gaza.

US President Joe Biden thanked the leaders of Qatar and Egypt for their “critical leadership” in reaching the deal.

“I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls… will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented,” Biden said, referring to the prisoners.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called the deal a “a crucial step towards providing relief to the families of the hostages and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the “breakthrough” agreement “must be used to bring vital aid to people in Gaza.”

Beijing hoped “that it will help ease the plight of the humanitarian crisis, de-escalate the conflict and ease tensions”, said foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning.

The Kremlin called the deal “the first good news from Gaza in a very long time”, noting “it is only on the basis of these kinds of pauses that some outlines of future attempts at a sustainable settlement can be built.”

‘Sustainable solutions’

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi noted “the continuation of the Egyptian efforts to reach final and sustainable solutions… to guarantee the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.’’

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hoped the deal between Israel and Hamas would bolster efforts to achieve an outright ‘‘end to their current conflict.’’

Arab foreign ministers welcomed an agreement for a temporary truce but said it should be extended and become a first step toward a full cessation of hostilities.

Turkish foreign ministry said, “We hope that this humanitarian pause will help to completely end the conflict as soon as possible and initiate a process towards a just and lasting peace on the basis of a two-state solution”. It urged “full compliance with the agreement”, adding that it should lead to an “increase in the amount of humanitarian aid allowed to enter Gaza”.

“President Mahmud Abbas and the leadership welcome the humanitarian truce agreement, value the Qatari-Egyptian effort made and reaffirm the call for a comprehensive cessation of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the entry of humanitarian aid,” senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Jordan hoped the Gaza truce would be a step that would end the Gaza crisis and prevent the targeting of Palestinians and their displacement from their land.

France said, “We hope that there will be French people among the first batch of hostages to be released,” its foreign minister told France Inter radio.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres “welcomes the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas, with the mediation of Qatar supported by Egypt and the United States,” a spokesman for the UN chief said in a statement.

“This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done.” Guterres said the UN would provide support for the implementation of the agreement.

The World Health Organisation also welcomed the deal, but the UN health agency’s chief said it would not end civilian suffering.

Humanitarian and human rights organisations said a four-day truce was too short and called for more time to deliver vital aid to the Gaza Strip. Paul O’Brien, from Amnesty International USA, said on a conference call of major non-governmental organisations that the four-day truce was “not enough and it’s certainly not enough in human rights terms”.

Header image: Flame and smoke rise during an Israeli air strike in Gaza. —Reuters/File

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2023