Bringing respite

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi welcomes the agreement on the first phase of President Trump's peace plan and hopes the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza "will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview published on Wednesday, said Trump's plan may be general in approach, but remains the best proposal "on the table" for now.

While the agreement is being described as a breakthrough, it was short on detail — including a timeline for Israeli withdrawal of all troops — and left many unresolved questions that could yet lead to its collapse, as has happened with previous peace efforts.

Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said stopping the bombing alone "will not end survivors' suffering" and cautioned against repeating the mistakes of previous ceasefires.

Egeland also said the truce "cannot be another fragile pause before renewed bloodshed", and that Israel must not use it as an opportunity to escalate its military operations and enable settler violence.