European leaders on Wednesday applauded a temporary cease-fire deal struck overnight between Israel and Hamas, which includes a prisoner exchange for the release of 50 hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she “wholeheartedly welcome[d]” the agreement. “I share the joy of the families who can soon embrace their loved ones again,” von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that the Commission would “upscale” aid deliveries to Gaza “as quickly as possible to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.”
The European Union’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the truce “must be used to provide as much urgently needed aid as possible to the civilians” in Gaza and pledged the EU would “do its part” in providing such assistance.
European Council President Charles Michel, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to Qatar and Egypt, who he said “helped broker” the cease-fire agreement.
A small Gulf state with sway over Hamas, Qatar acted as a crucial middleman — together with the United States and Egypt — to negotiate the deal.
The temporary cease-fire, which is set to last four to five days, is the first substantial pause in fighting since the October 7 surprise attacks from Hamas, which killed more than 1,200 people — most of them civilians — on Israeli soil. Hamas also kidnapped around 240 hostages — both Israelis and foreign nationals — who are believed to be held in Gaza.
Under the cease-fire agreement, Hamas will release 50 women and children, while Israel agreed to free 150 Palestinian prisoners currently in Israeli detention.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the deal “a breakthrough,” while her French counterpart Catherine Colonna said it provided “a moment of genuine hope.”
“We very much hope — we are working on it — that French people, children and women in particular, will be in this first group of released people,” Colonna told public radio broadcaster France Inter, adding that several of the eight French citizens still missing after the Hamas attacks on Israel had been confirmed as among the hostages.
Colonna said the truce was supposed to start “within 24 hours” after the agreement was struck, amid reports of continued fighting overnight and on Wednesday morning.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel would extend the truce by one day for the release of each 10 additional hostages by Hamas.
In retaliation for the Hamas attacks, Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza, limiting access to food, fuel and water as well as humanitarian aid to the densely populated Palestinian enclave, which is home to around 2 million people.
More than 12,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations, according to the Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza.
Netanyahu has vowed to resume the war after the temporary cease-fire ends.
“I would like to make it clear. We are at war, and we will continue the war until we achieve all our goals: eliminate Hamas, return all the hostages and missing, and guarantee that there will be no threat to Israel in Gaza,” he said on Tuesday evening.
