The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has “received with hope” the agreement reached this Wednesday between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire that ends the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Thus, the head of the Executive has said through social networks that this is “an indispensable step on the path towards two-state solution and a just peace” and that this must “end the conflict, make it possible to address the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza and the release of all hostages“At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who is in Lebanon in the middle of a tour of this country and Syria, has claimed to have been in contact with Sánchez about this issue throughout the day and has said that Spain is ready to send up to 50 million in humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.
“This agreement is crucial to achieving regional stability. It represents an indispensable step on the path towards the two-state solution and a just peace that respects international law,” Sánchez wrote. Likewise, he expressed his gratitude “to the tireless work of Qatar, Egypt and the United States as mediators who have made it possible”.
Likewise, Albares has recognized the work of these three countries in recent months, although he has acknowledged that some aspects remain to be detailed and that he hopes that both in Gaza and in Lebanon (whose ceasefire in force expires at the end of month) become permanent ceasefire. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister has acknowledged that he hopes that “very soon this news will also give way to the possibility of massive humanitarian aid that is so necessary for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
For this reason, Albares has asked that the entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave be normalized as soon as possible and has said that Spain is ready for what they have prepared to enter. “There is already a first package of 24 million euros that can reach the 50 million to address the most basic needs of Gaza,” he said.
The head of Spanish diplomacy has taken the opportunity to appeal to both Hamas and Netanyahu’s government “so that they do not waste this opportunity and to tell them that Spain” will be on their side “to achieve a future in peace” because “Israelis and Palestinians have the right to peace, exactly the same right. “Spain will not spare efforts to accompany peace“, stated Albares, emphasizing that the duration of the truce “is the time we have to consolidate it and for peace to be definitive.”
The implementation of this agreement and the entry into force of the ceasefire will begin at 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, said the spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed al Ansari. As he highlighted, the latest details about the “executive procedures” will be finalized during the night of this Wednesday. At the moment it is known that the agreement consists of three phases, of 42 days each. At the moment only the first is guaranteed, in which Hamas will release 33 hostagesthree of them this Sunday, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, whose number has not been specified. In addition, the green light will be given for the entry of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza, as well as the rehabilitation of hospitals.
To this we must add that Israeli troops will withdraw from the populated areas of Gaza, including the disputed Netzarim corridor and the Kuwait intersection (north), to the east, to position themselves in a buffer zone with a depth of 700 meters. In addition, will finally withdraw from the Philadelphia corridor graduallya 14-kilometer strip of land separating Gaza from Egypt. This is one of the most important points of the agreement, since it had been the main obstacle due to which previous negotiations had failed.
The Spanish foreign minister wanted to remember during his appearance in Beirut that “the more than 45,000 Palestinian civilians killed and almost 2,000 Israelis killedthey are enough”, in reference to those killed due to Israeli bombings and the Israeli deaths during the attack of October 7, 2023. “The time has come to face relations in the Middle East in a different way,” he declared.
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