Saudi Arabia on Thursday welcomed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement after US President Donald Trump announced that the parties had agreed to the “first phase” of a deal signaling a major breakthrough in the two-year war in Gaza.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised Trump’s influential role and the mediation efforts exerted by Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye to reach an agreement.
Saudi Arabia expressed hope that this step would lead to urgent action to alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, a complete Israeli withdrawal, the restoration of security and stability, and the initiation of practical steps to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.
Saudi Arabia emphasized that this includes the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative, and the New York Declaration on a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian issue.
On Thursday, Israel and Hamas said they had agreed to a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage deal, the first phase of Trump's plan to end a war in Gaza that has killed more than 67,000 people and reshaped the Middle East.
