{"id":12904,"date":"2025-10-09T09:44:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T07:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/un-chief-welcomes-breakthrough-gaza-ceasefire-and-hostage-release-deal\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:26:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:26:04","slug":"un-chief-welcomes-breakthrough-gaza-ceasefire-and-hostage-release-deal","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/un-chief-welcomes-breakthrough-gaza-ceasefire-and-hostage-release-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"UN chief welcomes breakthrough Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
This marks what could be a major step towards ending more than two years of devastating conflict in Gaza.<\/div>\n
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Trump said on Wednesday that both sides had \u201csigned off\u201d on the initial stage of his 20-point peace framework following days of intensive indirect negotiations in Egypt. Under the agreement, Hamas will release all remaining hostages held inside Gaza \u201cvery soon,\u201d while Israel has agreed to a phased withdrawal of its ground forces to \u201can agreed-upon line.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Hamas confirmed its commitment to the deal and called on the international community to ensure Israel abides by its terms. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it as a \u201cgreat day for Israel,\u201d noting that his cabinet would meet on Thursday to approve the first phase, which includes an immediate ceasefire.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI welcome the announcement of an agreement to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza, based on the proposal put forward by Trump,\u201d said Guterres in a statement.<\/div>\n
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He commended the diplomatic efforts of the US, Qatar, Egypt and T\u00fcrkiye in brokering what he described as a \u201cdesperately needed breakthrough.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Under the US plan, the UN and the Red Crescent will oversee the entry and distribution of humanitarian supplies into Gaza. Guterres said the world body stood ready to fully support the implementation of the phased agreement and help advance recovery and reconstruction efforts across the war-ravaged enclave.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe fighting must stop once and for all,\u201d he stressed. \u201cImmediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian supplies and essential commercial materials into Gaza must be ensured. The suffering must end.\u201d<\/div>\n
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The UN chief urged all parties to \u201cseize this momentous opportunity\u201d to pave the way for a permanent ceasefire and a credible political process.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis must lead towards ending the occupation, recognising the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, and achieving a two-State solution that enables Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe stakes have never been higher.\u201d<\/div>\n
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–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12905,"template":"default||default","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-12904","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the announcement by United States (US) President Donald Trump that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a landmark peace plan.\u00a0||The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the announcement by United States (US) President Donald Trump that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a landmark peace plan.\u00a0","published_date":null,"news_description":"The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the announcement by United States (US) President Donald Trump that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a landmark peace plan.\u00a0||The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres has welcomed the announcement by United States (US) President Donald Trump that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a landmark peace plan.\u00a0","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/12904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/12904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18279,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/12904\/revisions\/18279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=12904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}