World leaders welcome Gaza ceasefire deal

US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

"I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.

"Fighting in Gaza will stop, and soon the hostages return home to their families.

"For the Palestinian people, a credible, credible pathway to a state of their own. And for the region, a future of normalisation, integration of Israel and all its Arab neighbours, including Saudi Arabia."

US PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP

"We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

"With this deal in place, my National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven."

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES

"The United Nations stands ready to support the implementation of this deal and scale up the delivery of sustained humanitarian relief to the countless Palestinians who continue to suffer.

"It is imperative that this ceasefire removes the significant security and political obstacles to delivering aid across Gaza so that we can support a major increase in urgent lifesaving humanitarian support."

QATAR'S PRIME MINISTER SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN AL THANI

The prime minister called for calm in the Gaza Strip between now and January 19 when the ceasefire deal took effect.

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION

"I warmly welcome the ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza ... This brings hope to an entire region, where people have endured immense suffering for far too long. Both parties must fully implement this agreement, as a stepping stone toward lasting stability in the region and a diplomatic resolution of the conflict."

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER

"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.

"For the innocent Palestinians whose homes turned into a war zone 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."

GERMAN FOREIGN SECRETARY ANNALENA BAERBOCK

"In these hours there is hope that the hostages will finally be released and the deaths in Gaza will come to an end. Everyone who bears responsibility should now ensure that this opportunity is seized."

CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY

China welcomed the Gaza ceasefire deal and hopes relevant parties could take it as an opportunity to promote de-escalation in the Middle East, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Beijing also hoped the agreement would be effectively implemented so as to achieve a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, Guo said.

IRAN's REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS

"The end of the war and the imposition of a ceasefire on the Zionist regime (Israel) is a clear and great victory for Palestine and a greater defeat for the Zionist regime."

ITALY PM GIORGIA MELONI'S OFFICE

"Italy is ready to play its part, together with its European and international partners, for the stabilisation and reconstruction of Gaza and to permanently consolidate the cessation of hostilities, also with a view to relaunching a political process towards a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, based on the two-state solution, with Israel and a State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security, within mutually recognised borders."