Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal: Vote delayed after Netanyahu accuses Hamas of violating deal

Leaders from the United States and around the world on Wednesday welcomed the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The response to this agreement has been overwhelmingly positive. New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D-) said she was “very encouraged” to see the ceasefire come to fruition.

“This is something I have been calling for for many, many months over the last year, ever since the horrific and barbaric attack on innocent civilians in Israel that took place on October 7 of last year,” he said. Hochul said. “My main priority was getting the hostages home.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote on X that he felt “an indescribable sense of relief” about the hostages’ return.

“The return of the hostages will mark the beginning of closure for Israelis and Jews, as well as countless others, who continue to be deeply affected by the indelible terror and trauma of October 7,” Torres wrote. “The hostages were brought home through the power of the world’s most powerful friendship: the relationship between the United States and Israel.”

The deal also attracted international attention. In a statement, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer called the ceasefire “long overdue news.”

“(The Israeli and Palestinian people) have borne the brunt of this conflict – sparked by the brutal Hamas terrorists, who carried out the deadliest massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust on October 7, 2023,” Starmer said. “The hostages, who were brutally taken from their homes that day and held in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally reunite with their families.

“But we should also take this moment to pay tribute to those who will not return home – including those Britons murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them.”

In an X post translated from French to English, French President Emmanuel Macron said the ceasefire must be respected.

“After 15 months of unjustifiable ordeal, an immense relief for Gazans, hope for the hostages and their families,” Macron said. He also referred to Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Calderon, two Franco-Israeli hostages.

This is an excerpt from an article by Andrea Margolis.