Starmer speaks of ‘profound relief’ as Gaza ceasefire deal signed | World | News
Sir Keir Starmer has told of his “profound relief” after Hamas and Israel agreed on the first phase of the Gaza peace plan. The warring neighbours signed up to the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point pathway in a major breakthrough that sparked jubilant celebrations around the world.
The Prime Minister said: “I welcome the news that a deal has been reached on the first stage of President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza. “This is a moment of profound relief that will be felt all around the world, but particularly for the hostages, their families, and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years.”
The PM praised the “tireless diplomatic efforts” of the US, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in moving the sides towards peace.
He added: “This agreement must now be implemented in full, without delay, and accompanied by the immediate lifting of all restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza.
“We call on all parties to meet the commitments they have made, to end the war, and to build the foundations for a just and lasting end to the conflict and a sustainable path to a long-term peace. The UK will support these crucial immediate steps and the next stage of talks to ensure the full implementation of the peace plan.”
The deal stipulates that 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans detained by Israeli forces since the war began will be released
Under the deal, Israel will allow 400 aid trucks to enter Gaza daily, with the number to increase gradually in later stages.
Later today the Israeli government will vote on the ceasefire agreement. If it agrees, it will have 24 hours to withdraw its troops to a so-called “yellow line”. Then 48 captives – 20 of whom are thought to be dead – will be released by Hamas.
Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the US, said that once Israel’s security cabinet approves a list of Palestinian prisoners for release – there will be a 72-hour countdown for Hamas to release the remaining living Israeli hostages from Gaza.
It means they could be freed as early as Sunday or more likely Monday. President Trump is likely to travel to the Middle East as the deal is being finalised in a visittimed to coincide with the release of hostages.
He said: “We hope it leads to a complete cessation of hostilities and a rebuilding of Gaza for the sake of the Gazans and for the sake of Israel.
“But it’s the first stage, and we’ve got to see the first stage implemented completely in the next few days.”
President Trump said that after phase one of the peace deal is complete “you’ll see people getting along and Gaza will be rebuilt”.
But he warned it will be a “different world” and that there will be “wealth spent in Gaza”.
President Trump said: “Gaza, we believe, is going to be a much safer place, and it’s going to be a place that reconstructs, and other countries in the area will help it reconstruct because they have tremendous amounts of wealth, and they want to see that happen.
“I’m very confident there’ll be peace in the Middle East.”
The breakthrough brokered after talks in in Egypt comes two years and two days after Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7 attack in 2023 in which masked Hamas-led gunmen slaughtered 1,200 civilians and snatched 251 others as hostages
At least 67,183 have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza since then, including 20,179 children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
