Hope Gaza truce helps free hostages, ensures aid supply: MEA | India News

NEW DELHI: India Thursday welcomed the announcement of the agreement for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza, expressing hope it will lead to a safe and sustained supply of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
“We have consistently called for release of all hostages, ceasefire, and return to a path of dialogue and diplomacy,” said Union ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a statement.

India had for the past many months been repeatedly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while underlining the need to ensure that the conflict doesn’t spread to other parts of West Asia. It also called for respecting international humanitarian law and condemned deaths of innocent civilians.
Israel and Hamas agreed to an agreement to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official briefed on the deal told Reuters on Wednesday, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended West Asia.
The ceasefire agreement follows several months of negotiations brokered by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and came just ahead of the Jan 20 inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.