2023-11-22 12:26:00
Many leaders around the world have been calling for a pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in recent weeks. Following the news that the Government of Israel agreed to a hostage deal on Wednesday morning (local time), there is one word on many politicians’ lips: progress.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Tuesday that the talks marked “significant progress” but said the country will not “rest as long as Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza.”
UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron described the agreement between Israel and Hamas as a “crucial step in providing aid to the hostages’ families and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also praised the deal as a sign of progress.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel said they welcomed the decisive agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages, with Michel adding that he was “grateful to Qatar and Egypt who helped negotiate it.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the deal as “the first good news from Gaza in a long time” and added that Russia has consistently advocated for a truce and humanitarian pauses.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said they hoped the agreement would “help ease the difficult humanitarian crisis, reduce the intensity of the conflict and ease tensions.”
Qatar, a key negotiator, said it hoped the pause in fighting might help pave the way toward a long-term solution.
Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, minister of state at Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said in a statement that the country’s priority now was to work on efforts to secure a “long-term ceasefire, end the war and work towards a lasting peace”.
That sentiment was shared by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who “welcomed the success” of Egyptian-Qatari-American mediation in implementing a humanitarian truce, but renewed his commitment to finding a “final and sustainable”.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at Al-Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo, Egypt, on October 15. (Jacquelyn Martin/Archyde.com)
The president of the Palestinian Autonomous Government, Mahmoud Abbas, also welcomed the hostage agreement, but renewed his calls for a complete ceasefire, according to the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.
Reminder: Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day humanitarian pause to allow the release of at least 50 hostages – women and children – held in Gaza. The deal will also see the release of 150 Palestinians, including women and children, held in Israeli prisons.
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