UN Secretary-General Guterres welcomes agreement between Israel and Hamas
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the agreement between Israel and the radical Islamic Palestinian movement Hamas on the release of 50 hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. "This is an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done," said a spokesman for the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli government had agreed to a deal that provides for the release of 50 hostages abducted by Hamas. In return, Palestinian prisoners are to be released from Israeli jails and a four-day ceasefire is to be observed. Both Israel and Hamas declared their intention to continue fighting after the ceasefire.
Guterres welcomed the "agreement between Israel and Hamas, which was concluded by Qatar with the support of Egypt and the USA", the spokesperson continued. The UN will now "deploy all its resources" to support the implementation of the agreement and increase its "positive impact on the situation in Gaza".
The Secretary-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also expressed his satisfaction on the online service X (formerly Twitter). However, the agreement was not enough to "end the suffering of civilians". Tedros also called for medical aid to be provided to those remaining in Hamas hands. He also welcomed the four-day ceasefire agreed between the parties to the conflict in connection with the release of the hostages.
The Israeli government officially announced the release of 50 hostages, a process facilitated by the agreement between Israel and Hamas. According to UN Secretary-General Guterres, this agreement is an important step, but he emphasized that more actions are required. The UN Secretary-General pledged to utilize all available resources to enhance the agreement's impact and bring about improvements in the situation in Gaza.
Source: www.ntv.de
