As a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on Sunday morning, and the first exchange of prisoners took place by late afternoon, here are the first reactions at local and international level:
United States
US President Joe Biden on Sunday welcomed the fact that the Middle East is a “fundamentally transformed region” thanks to the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
“After so much pain, destruction, loss of life, the guns fell silent today in Gaza,” hailed the Democratic leader on his last full day as sitting president before handing over to Donald Trump on Monday.
“The region is now fundamentally transformed. Long time Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead. Hamas's supporters in the Middle East have been profoundly weakened by Israel, with U.S. support, and one of Hamas's biggest supporters, Hezbollah, has also been weakened” in Lebanon, said Joe Biden.
The American leader was delighted that “the United States has sealed a ceasefire in Lebanon” and that “the regime of Bashar Al Assad in nearby Syria has fallen, cutting off Iran's access to Lebanon”.
Teheran, the arch nemesis of Israel and the United States, “is in the weakest position in decades”, Mr. Biden added.
As for the “Palestinian people”, he judged that there was “a credible path to an independent state”, and called for “Israel's future normalization and integration with all its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia”.
“It is now up to the next administration to help implement this agreement. I was pleased that our teams spoke with one voice in the last few days”, concluded Joe Biden in what is expected to be his last public speech as President-in-Office.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the three hostages released by Hamas as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip “have been through hell”, according to a statement from his office.
In a telephone interview with Gal Hirsh, who is in charge of the hostage dossier in his office, Mr. Netanyahu said that the three young women had “been through hell”, adding that they had come “out of darkness into light, out of slavery into freedom”.
Hamas
The armed wing of Hamas warned on Sunday that implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza would depend on Israel's “respect for commitments” on the first day of the truce and the hostage and prisoner exchange agreement.
“We, along with the resistance factions, affirm our total commitment to the ceasefire agreement, while stressing that this remains conditional on the enemy's commitment,” said Abu Obeida, spokesman for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, in a video message.
He also warned that “Israel's continued occupation of our land will affect the entire region and the world”, while denouncing the “silence and complicity” of the international community in the face of the “crimes of the occupation in Gaza”, believing that this “will be a burden for the occupier and all its supporters”.
Finally, Abu Obeida praised the “extraordinary resilience” of the Palestinian people.
Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday called for a commitment “to a Palestinian state” coexisting in peace with the state of Israel following the start of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“We should seize this momentum to commit to a Palestinian state that can coexist peacefully with the State of Israel,” said Olaf Scholz in a message on his X account.
“At last, the guns have fallen silent. At last, the Israeli hostages have been freed. But now more humanitarian aid must reach Gaza quickly”, added the Chancellor.
The Palestinian civilian population has suffered “enormously” in Gaza, and their fate “concerns us too”, wrote the German leader.
France
In a telephone conversation with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron stressed the importance of “being able to restore Palestinian governance in Gaza, fully involving the Palestinian Authority”, the Elysée Palace said on Sunday.
Emmanuel Macron also stressed that “the future of the Gaza Strip must be part of that of a future Palestinian state, and in so doing we must ensure that no massacre, such as that committed on October 7, can ever be repeated against the Israeli people”, added the French presidency on the first day of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
For the Élysée, it is “now essential to work immediately to respond to the vital emergency for Gazans, by ensuring a massive delivery of humanitarian aid, commensurate with the needs of the inhabitants”.
On Friday, Mahmoud Abbas announced that the Palestinian Authority was ready to “fully assume its responsibilities” in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
European Union
The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, expressed his “relief” at the release of the first Israeli hostages, and described the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza as a “ray of hope”.
“Relieved to finally see the first hostages released and humanitarian aid flowing in as the ceasefire comes into effect in Gaza,” he wrote on the X social network. “The agreement brings a glimmer of hope to the region. All parties must stick to it. Peace is the only way forward”, he added.
United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Sunday welcomed the “fantastic” news of the release of the three Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including British-Israeli national Emily Damari, and called for the ceasefire agreement to be “fully implemented”.
“The release of the three hostages today is fantastic and long overdue after months of torment for them and their families,” he said, adding that today remains "another day of suffering for those who have not yet returned home". He called for the ceasefire agreement, including the release of the remaining hostages and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, to be “fully implemented and on schedule”.
With AFP
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