Gazans celebrate after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas takes effect. Photo: Reuters

From the UN headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel after 11 days of fighting and thanked Egypt and Qatar for their work with the UN in brokering the deal to help restore peace to Gaza and Israel. He urged all parties to abide by the ceasefire.

Guterres called on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza and help with rebuilding process. He said, “Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a responsibility beyond the restoration of calm to start a serious dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict.”

US President Joe Biden welcomed the ceasefire and pledged to work with the United Nations to provide humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain supports efforts to bring about peace.

Egypt said it will send two security delegations to Israel and the Palestinian territory to monitor the ceasefire and agree on further solutions to maintain long-term security and stability.

The Gaza Strip in the past 11 days was engulfed in flames from air strikes and rocket attacks as fighting between Israel and Hamas sparked fear of an all-out war. This military clash, the most intense since the 2014 war between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip, stems from the Israeli government’s eviction of Palestinian families from East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah area.