Moscow expresses its hope that Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov will be among the hostages to be released.
Jan. 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Russian Government expressed this Thursday its hope that the ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) “helps stabilize the situation” in the enclave and serves as a step to the “long-term normalization” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We hope that the implementation of the agreement reached will contribute to the sustainable stabilization of the situation in Gaza and will create the conditions for the return of all temporarily displaced people and the beginning of the reconstruction of what was destroyed during military operations,” said the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajarova.
Likewise, he stressed that Moscow hopes that the agreement will be “an important practical step towards the long-term normalization of the situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and that it “creates the preconditions for improving the situation in the Middle East region.” Nearby, including Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.”
“We believe that the completion of this agreement will contribute to the creation of the necessary conditions to establish a process for a comprehensive political agreement on the Palestinian problem, based on the generally recognized international legal basis,” he stated.
Finally, Zakharova expressed Moscow’s hope that Russian citizen Alexander Trufanov would be among the hostages to be released within the framework of the agreement, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
The agreement, reached after months of indirect talks, will be divided into three phases. The first of them will last 42 days and will certify the cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli troops towards the border and the exchange of 33 hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
The second phase will consist of the distribution of “safe and effective” humanitarian aid in much of the Gaza Strip, devastated after more than 15 months of Israeli offensive. The repair of health centers will also be carried out and civil supplies and fuel will be allowed to enter the enclave. As the first phase is certified, more details of the second and third stages of the pact will be announced.
Israel launched its offensive against Gaza after the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023, which left nearly 1,200 dead and about 250 kidnapped. Since then, more than 46,700 Palestinians have died in the Strip, according to the Gazan authorities, controlled by Hamas, to which are added more than 850 deaths at the hands of security forces and in attacks carried out by settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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