UAE welcomes Gaza ceasefire announcement as peace hopes rise

Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses support as first phase of peace plan is agreed on

Palestinians celebrate the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. EPA

The UAE on Thursday welcomed US President Donald Trump's announcement of an agreement on the first phase of a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Mr Trump had played a prominent role in urging all parties to take action to stop the war in the enclave.

The Ministry also thanked diplomats from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey for their work on the crucial peace pact and expressed hope that it would prove to be a positive step in efforts to end the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and pave the way for a lasting settlement that guarantees the rights of Palestinians in the region.

It also reiterated the UAE’s support for all regional and international efforts aimed at achieving peace while emphasising the need for unhindered humanitarian aid to pass freely into the enclave.

Mr Trump earlier said Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of the ceasefire plan, raising hopes that an end could be in sight to a conflict that has devastated the enclave and resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

Qatar, which helped broker the deal along with Egypt, the US and Turkey, said the deal was the “first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which will lead to ending the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of aid”.

Displaced Gazans hope ceasefire deal will bring peace

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Global call for peace

News of the deal sparked small celebrations in Israel and Gaza and won widespread support across the region and beyond.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi hailed the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions in Sharm El Sheikh as a “historic moment” that embodies the triumph of peace over war.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the agreement as "a moment of profound relief that will be felt around the world", in a statement shared on X. He said it was particularly significant for "the hostages, their families and for the civilian population of Gaza, who have all endured unimaginable suffering over the last two years".

The French President Emmanuel Macron said the agreement "must mark the end of the war and the beginning of a political solution based on the two-state solution".

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the "stakes have never been higher" as the world seeks to deliver lasting peace. "The UN will support the full implementation of the agreement and will scale up the delivery of sustained and principled humanitarian relief, and we will advance recovery and reconstruction efforts in Gaza," he said on X.

"I urge all stakeholders to seize this momentous opportunity to establish a credible political path forward towards ending the occupation, recognising the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, leading to a two-state solution to enable Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.

The UN's aid chief Tom Fletcher called the agreement on the first stage of Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan “great news”, saying his teams were “fully mobilised to get the trucks moving at scale” in a post on X. “Let’s get the hostages out and surge aid in – fast,” the UN’s under secretary general for humanitarian affairs added.