Hamas and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire starting January 19, 2025, and the release of Israeli hostages. This highly anticipated announcement after fifteen months of war was greeted with hope and caution by the international community.
Finally. After fifteen months of a merciless war between Israel and Hamas, a ceasefire will come into effect on Sunday. For the international community, hope is tinged with caution: the truce must still be respected, the hostages must be able to return home and the devastated enclave must be rebuilt.
Hamas hails Palestinians' “tenacity”
Hamas said Wednesday that the Gaza ceasefire agreement was the result of the “tenacity” of the Palestinian people and the “valiant resistance” of the Islamist movement.
“The ceasefire agreement is the product of the legendary tenacity of our Palestinian people and our valiant resistance in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months,”the movement said in a statement, adding that the agreement paved “the way for the realization of (his) people's aspirations for liberation”.
Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Wednesday that his movement “will not forgive” the suffering experienced by Palestinians during the war between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, shortly after announcing a ceasefire agreement.
“We will not forget and we will not forgive”, the Qatar-based movement official said of “sufferings” inflicted on the Palestinian people by the war between Hamas and Israel, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Islamist movement in Israel and which has lasted for more than fifteen months, during which more than 46,700 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip.
“The right choice”, congratulates Israel
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday evening welcomed the announcement of the agreement on a truce in Gaza, calling it a “good choice” to bring back the hostages held in the small Palestinian territory.
“As President of the State of Israel, I say very clearly: this is a good choice. It is an important choice. A necessary choice. There is no greater moral, human, Jewish or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us,” Herzog said in a televised address.
A far-right Israeli minister on Wednesday night denounced the deal as “dangerous” /em>for Israel.
“The agreement that will be presented to the government is a bad agreement and dangerous for the security of the State of Israel”, declared Bezalel Smotrich, Minister of Finance, in a statement, specifying that the ministers of his party will vote against the agreement that must be validated Thursday by the Israeli government.
For Macron, “a political solution must come”
In a message posted on X, the President of the Republic expressed his relief after the announcement of this agreement: “After fifteen months of unjustifiable ordeal, immense relief for the Gazans, hope for the hostages and their families.”
Après quinze mois de calvaire injustifiable, soulagement immense pour les Gazaouis, espoir pour les otages et leurs familles. Ce soir, mes pensées vont à Ofer et Ohad.
L'accord doit être respecté. Les otages, libérés. Les Gazaouis, secourus. Une solution politique doit advenir.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) January 15, 2025
Before adding: “This evening, my thoughts are with Ofer and Ohad.” The latter being the two French hostages still in the hands of Hamas.
Emmanuel Macron stressed the importance of respecting this truce and the release of the hostages: “The agreement must be respected. The hostages, freed. The Gazans, rescued. A political solution must come.”
A “deep relief” for the UN
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk welcomed the news on Wednesday, saying that he promised “a profound 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.
A “much-needed respite” according to the European Union
The European Union has “welcomed” the news after more than 15 months of war.
“I welcome the ceasefire agreement and the hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, which will provide much-needed respite to those affected by this devastating conflict,” said European Commissioner Dubravka Suica, on X.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Biden and Trump working as a team
US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he had worked as a “team” with his successor Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, to conclude the Gaza truce agreement.
“I would also like to note that this agreement was designed under my administration, but its terms will be implemented largely by the next administration. Over the last few days, we have spoken as a team,” he said in a speech at the White House.
“We have an agreement on the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released soon,” US President-elect Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social network on Wednesday, while the current White House occupant, Joe Biden, has so far not communicated on the subject.
Donald Trump's future special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, was involved alongside representatives of the Biden administration in the discussions conducted under the aegis of Qatar and Egypt in view of a truce in the Gaza Strip.
Joe Biden said he was “delighted” Wednesday of the future release of the hostages in Gaza.
The American president, who will leave the White House on Monday, the day after the truce in Gaza comes into force, said in a statement that this agreement was to be credited to a “tenacious and meticulous” American diplomatic campaign.
An opportunity to be seized, underlines Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz estimated on Wednesday that the ceasefire in Gaza could pave the way for a lasting end to hostilities in the Gaza Strip.
“This “The 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 “implemented to the letter.”
Germany has called on all parties to “seize” the opportunity provided by the truce in Gaza, announced on Wednesday by its Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
“There is hope that the hostages will finally be freed and that the deaths in Gaza will stop. All those in positions of responsibility must now ensure that they seize this opportunity,”, Baerbock said on social media.
Towards the two-state solution, hopes Keir Starmer
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was of a “news that Israelis and Palestinians were desperately waiting for”, was only “too late”.
“They have borne the brunt of this conflict – sparked by the brutal Hamas terrorist attack,” he said in a statement, adding that the focus must now be on building a “sustainably better future […] through a two-state solution.”
A year of hard work for Egypt
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described the agreement as the result of “more than a year of hard work by Egyptian, Qatari and American mediation.”
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.”
Italy applauds “important step towards peace”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday that the ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza was “excellent news” and “an important step towards peace.”
“We must consolidate this ceasefire and move forward to the next steps,” he told reporters.
For Spain, “regional stability” is getting closer
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said it was “crucial to achieving stability regional”.
It “represents an essential step towards a two-state solution and a just peace that respects international law”, he wrote on X, adding that the agreement “should end the conflict, address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and free all hostages”.
A truce under surveillance
Qatar, Egypt and the United States will monitor the implementation of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas in Gaza through a monitoring mechanism established in Cairo, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani announced on Wednesday.
“A monitoring mechanism will be set up, managed by Egypt, Qatar and the United States (the three mediating countries, editor's note). Based in Cairo, this mechanism will involve a joint team from the three countries to monitor the implementation of the agreement”, the Qatari Prime Minister said.
Palestinians and Israeli hostages: big winners of the truce
Thousands of Palestinians celebrated Wednesday evening across the Gaza Strip at the news of the announcement of a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war, according to AFP journalists and witnesses.
In Deir el-Balah, in the center of the small territory, hundreds of people expressed their joy in front of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, dancing or waving Palestinian flags, according to an AFP journalist. Several similar spontaneous gatherings took place in other localities, according to AFP journalists on the scene or witnesses reached by telephone.