Arab foreign ministers say a temporary truce between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas should be extended and become a first step toward a full cessation of hostilities.
Hamas has announced a four-day truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip that will see the cessation of Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip.
In a statement released early on Wednesday, Hamas said the deal, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, will see the release of 50 Israeli war prisoners in exchange for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children from the occupying entity’s jails.
Reacting to the deal, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan told a media briefing in London that the agreement should also ultimately lead to a resumption of talks for a two-state solution.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the humanitarian aid should be sustained and expanded.
“Whatever humanitarian access now increases as a result of this hostage deal must remain in place and must be built upon,” he said.
“There must at no point be a reduction in this access based on progress for further release of hostages… Punishing the civilian population of Gaza for the holding of those hostages is absolutely not acceptable.”
The Arab foreign ministers are leading a so-called contact group of mostly Muslim countries that are pursuing Israel’s major allies and the UN Security Council to bring about an end to the Gaza war and move towards a permanent solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Hamas earlier emphasized that any agreement is necessarily based on the conditions of the Palestinian resistance.
During the truce, the Israeli regime is also supposed to stop arresting or attacking anyone all across the besieged territory. Qatar and Israel have confirmed the agreement as well. The truce will take effect on Thursday morning and could be extended
Political commentators argue that the Israeli regime had no choice but to accept the truce as it failed to achieve its stated goals in the Gaza Strip.
The ceasefire, hailed as a victory for Hamas, came on the 47th day of the war, with Israel having failed to reach its declared objective of destroying the resistance group.
South Africa welcomes four-day truce
President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the four-day truce in Gaza and said he hoped it would bolster efforts to achieve an end to the conflict.
He added there needed to be a durable political resolution in the Middle East.
South Africa has been one of the most prominent voices on the war and has likened the plight of Palestinians to its own before the end of apartheid in 1994.
On Tuesday, South African lawmakers voted in favor of closing down the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspending all diplomatic relations until a ceasefire is agreed.
Netanyahu says the war against Gaza will not stop after ceasefire
But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to resume the Israeli offensive against Gaza as soon as the truce ends.
“We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said at a cabinet meeting. “We will continue until we achieve all our goals.”
The Israeli cabinet was expected to vote on a plan that would halt Israel’s offensive in Gaza for several days.
Netanyahu acknowledged that the Cabinet faced a tough decision, but supporting the ceasefire was the right thing to do.
The Israeli prime minister said that during the lull, intelligence efforts will be maintained, allowing the army to prepare for the next stages of battle. He said the battle would continue until “Gaza will not threaten Israel.”
