UN Secretary-General Guterres supports ceasefire, hostage release in Gaza

2025-01-20 02:26:07

(MENAFN) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed support on Sunday for the initiation of a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.

"I welcome the start of the implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza," Guterres wrote in a post on X.

He highlighted the UN’s readiness to assist, saying, "We stand ready to support this implementation & scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer."

The UN chief also underscored the importance of overcoming barriers to aid delivery, emphasizing, "It is imperative that the ceasefire must remove the significant security & political obstacles to delivering aid."

Earlier, the Gaza ceasefire agreement went into effect on Sunday, after a nearly three-hour delay. Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, released three Israeli captives as part of the deal. On the first day of the ceasefire, 90 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons were expected to be freed.

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