France and UK support Gaza ceasefire

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak this Saturday (1st) backed a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, which would see the release of hostages held by the Palestinian group Hamas.

In a brief message on the social network X, Macron responded to the plan announced this Friday by US President Joe Biden based on the Israeli initiative, saying that “France supports the US proposal for a global agreement”.

Macron added that he was working “with partners in the region for peace and security for all”, noting contacts with mediators in Qatar and Egypt.

The British Prime Minister today called on Hamas to seize the opportunity to bring peace to the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to reporters in northeast England, Sunak said the plan was “very welcome news” and that he hoped “Hamas will take the opportunity to conclude a deal on the table that will ensure the hostages are released and returned to their families.” In addition to increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories.

The cessation of hostilities “must turn into a stable and lasting peace, which is what we all want to see,” said the leader of the Conservative government, which continues to campaign for the July 4 British general election.

Earlier, British Foreign Minister David Cameron called on Hamas to “seize the moment” and accept the proposed deal.

US President Joe Biden said the first phase of the deal would last six weeks and would include a “full and complete ceasefire”, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of the Gaza Strip and the release of several hostages held by Hamas, including women. , elderly and wounded, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

At this point the American hostages will be released and the remains of those killed will be returned to their families. Humanitarian aid will be increased, with 600 trucks allowed to enter the enclave each day.

The second phase involved the release of all remaining hostages, including male soldiers, and the abandonment of Israeli positions throughout the Gaza Strip.

“Until Hamas fulfills its obligations, the temporary cease-fire, under the Israeli proposal, would be a ‘permanent cessation of hostilities,'” Biden noted.

Finally, the third phase requires the initiation of a major reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which has faced decades of work due to the devastation caused by the war.

Israel today insisted that conditions for a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip include the destruction of Hamas and the release of all held hostages, according to a statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

Hamas, on the other hand, said it viewed the proposal positively and was ready to deal “constructively” with any plan that included a “firm ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the restoration of the territory and the exchange of prisoners”.

Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack on October 7, in which Palestinian militants overran southern Israeli territory, killing nearly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 hostages.

Israel’s retaliation in the Palestinian territory has already killed more than 36,000 people, most of them civilians, according to the local Hamas government, and has left the territory in a severe humanitarian crisis.

*Reproduction of this content is prohibited.