United Nations,(EFE).
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday “welcomed” the temporary truce deal reached hours ago between Israel’s government and Hamas, but said it was not enough.
“I welcome the agreement reached by Israel & Hamas. It’s an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done,” Guterres said in a post on X.
For weeks Guterres has been advocating for an indefinite ceasefire for humanitarian reasons, in line with most of the international community, but it has been opposed by Israel and its ally the United States, which say that such a truce would serve to rearm Hamas.
Guterres’ statement added that the UN “will mobilize all its capacities to support the implementation & maximize positive impact on the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” which after six weeks of war is in a catastrophic situation.
The temporary humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas has been welcomed by the international community, from neighboring Arab countries to multinational organizations.
It is expected to come into force on Thursday and in a first phase, Hamas will hand over at least 50 hostages, almost all of them women and children, of the more than 240 it kidnapped on Oct. 7, and Israel will release a first batch of 150 Palestinian prisoners.
The agreement includes ceasefire of at least four days, which may be extended to a maximum of 10, in which the fighting will be completely paused and will involve the entry into the Strip of between 100 and 300 trucks of food and medical aid and fuel.