Jordan welcomes Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement

AMMAN/DOHA — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza announced on Wednesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry commended the efforts of of Egypt, Qatar and US in reaching the agreement, stressing the need for full commitment to the long-awaited ceasefire.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi emphasised the need for an “immediate international action to provide adequate and sustainable humanitarian aid to address the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli aggression on Gaza”.

He also stressed the need for a real effort to rebuild Gaza and end the large-scale suffering of the Palestinian people.

Safadi confirmed that Jordan, under the directives His Majesty King Abdullah, will continue to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and support the Palestinian people in realising their legitimate rights.

He also called for collective efforts to solidify the ceasefire agreement and build on it to create real prospects for reaching a fair and comprehensive solution that ensures the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution.

Israel and Hamas agreed on Wednesday to a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages being held in Gaza following separate meetings with Qatar's prime minister, a source briefed on the talks told AFP.

A US official confirmed the deal.

Pressure to put an end to the fighting had ratcheted up in recent days, as mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States intensified efforts to cement an agreement.

On Wednesday, a source close to the talks said Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani was "meeting Hamas negotiators in his office for [a] final push" to seal the deal.

A source briefed on the talks later told AFP a "Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal [was] reached following [the] Qatari PM's meeting with Hamas negotiators and separately Israeli negotiators in his office".

The announcement comes after months of failed bids to end the deadliest war in Gaza's history, and days ahead of the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, who immediately hailed the deal before it was officially announced by the White House.

"We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump had warned Hamas of "hell to pay" if it did not free the remaining captives before he took office, and envoys from both his incoming administration and President Joe Biden's outgoing one had been present at the latest negotiations.

Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed 46,707 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

Sticking points

Among the sticking points in successive rounds of talks had been disagreements over the permanence of any ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the scale of humanitarian aid for the Palestinian territory.

The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, facing an Israeli ban on its activities set to take effect later this month, said it will continue providing much-needed aid.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 surprise attack, has opposed any post-war role for the fighter group in the territory.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday Israel would ultimately "have to accept reuniting Gaza and the West Bank under the leadership of a reformed" Palestinian Authority and embrace a "path toward forming an independent Palestinian state".

He added that the "best incentive" to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace remained the prospect of normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, speaking in Oslo, said the latest push for a Gaza ceasefire showed international pressure on Israel "does pay off".