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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, based on the proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump. He lauded the diplomatic efforts of the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkiye in brokering the deal and urged all concerned parties to abide fully by the terms of the agreement.
In a message shared on X, he underlined that all hostages must be released in a dignified manner and a permanent ceasefire must be secured. "The fighting must stop once and for all. Immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza must be ensured. The suffering must end." The UN Chief also announced the support of the organisation in full implementation of the agreement along with scaling up the delivery of humanitarian relief. "The @UN will support the full implementation of the agreement & will scale up the delivery of sustained & principled humanitarian relief, and we will advance recovery & reconstruction efforts in Gaza. I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognizing the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, leading to a two-state solution to enable Israelis & Palestinians to live in peace & security. The stakes have never been higher", he said. Qatar's Prime Minister and official Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al Ansari, on Thursday said that an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Ansari said that the deal covered the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. In a post on X, he wrote, "The mediators announce that tonight an agreement was reached on all the provisions and implementation mechanisms of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid. The details will be announced later." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also hailed what he calls "a great day for Israel", saying he will "convene the government tomorrow [Thursday] to approve the agreement and bring all our precious kidnapped people home." He thanked the Israeli military and security forces, as well as US President Donald Trump and his team, "for their commitment to this sacred mission of freeing our kidnapped people". "With God's help, together we will continue to achieve all our goals and expand peace with our neighbours," Netanyahu posted. Hamas has released its first public statement since US President Trump said the Palestinian group and Israel had "signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan". In a post on Telegram, Hamas announced the "conclusion of an agreement stipulating an end to the war on Gaza, the occupation's withdrawal from it, the entry of aid, and a prisoner exchange", as per Al Jazeera. The statement called on the US leader, Arab mediators and international parties to "compel the occupation government [Israel] to fully implement the agreement's requirements and not allow it to evade or delay the implementation of what has been agreed upon". The group concluded by saying it will remain "faithful to our pledge and will not abandon our people's national rights, including freedom, independence, and self-determination," Al Jazeera reported. (ANI)
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