Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal as “long-overdue news” and paid tribute to “the British people who were murdered by Hamas.
The UK Prime Minister said Britain would join its allies in continuing work to “break the cycle of violence and secure long-term peace in the Middle East.”
After weeks of painstaking negotiations in Qatar, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, multiple officials announced on Wednesday, raising the possibility of winding down the deadliest and most destructive fighting between the bitter enemies.
It promises the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and would allow hundreds of thousands of people displaced in Gaza to return to what remains of their homes.
In a statement on Wednesday evening, the Prime Minister said: “After months of devastating bloodshed and countless lives lost, this is the long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for.
“They have borne the brunt of this conflict – triggered by the brutal terrorists of Hamas, who committed the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust on October 7 2023.
“The hostages, who were brutally ripped from their homes on that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally return to their families. But we should also use this moment to pay tribute to those who won’t make it home – including the British people who were murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them.
“For the innocent Palestinians whose homes turned into a warzone overnight and the many who have lost their lives, this ceasefire must allow for a huge surge in humanitarian aid, which is so desperately needed to end the suffering in Gaza.
“And then our attention must turn to how we secure a permanently better future for the Israeli and Palestinian people – grounded in a two-state solution that will guarantee security and stability for Israel, alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine state.
“The UK and its allies will continue to be at the forefront of these crucial efforts to break the cycle of violence and secure long-term peace in the Middle East.”