Sri Lanka welcomes Gaza ceasefire agreement
COLOMBO – Sri Lanka on Monday (20) welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, hopeful it would contribute to the establishment of sustainable peace in Palestine and the region.
“We are hopeful, the arrangement which paves the way for the exchange of hostages and detainees, the return of internally displaced persons to their places of residence in Gaza, and the provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, will be sustained,” the Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
A Qatar, Egypt and US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold on Sunday (19), suspending a 15-month-old war that has devastated the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.
More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks and nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza have been rendered homeless. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also died.
The truce calls for fighting to stop, aid to be sent into Gaza and 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Israeli and foreign hostages to go free over the six-week first phase in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Many of the hostages are believed to be dead.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire. The truce also allowed Palestinians to return to bombed-out neighbourhoods to begin rebuilding their lives, while relief trucks delivered much-needed aid.
The foreign ministry expressed optimism that the development would contribute to the establishment of sustainable peace in Palestine and the region.
-ENCL
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