UPDATE - China calls for ‘effective implementation’ of Gaza cease-fire

UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS FROM MALAYSIA, AFGHANISTAN

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Thursday welcomed news of a cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement in Palestine’s besieged enclave of Gaza, calling for effective implementation of the deal between Israel and Hamas.

Beijing hopes “the agreement can be effectively implemented to achieve a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire in the region,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.

Qatari Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani late Wednesday announced success in reaching a cease-fire deal in the Gaza Strip, saying its implementation will begin Sunday.

Guo said China supports the implementation of the cease-fire agreement and “will continue to make positive efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza and assist in post-war reconstruction.”

Separately, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said it is “imperative that provision of urgently needed humanitarian assistance is immediately restored to Gaza and other war-torn areas.”

“We hope this ceasefire agreement will be honored in letter and spirit,” he said on X, reaffirming Pakistan’s call for a two-state solution in Palestine.

Indonesia also welcomed the news.

“The implementation of this agreement must be carried out immediately and comprehensively to halt the loss of lives in Gaza,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement from Jakarta.

“Peace in Palestine cannot be achieved without the end of Israel's occupation and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, in accordance with the two-state solution based on agreed international parameters,” it added.

-Malaysia, Afghanistan

Malaysia also welcomed the development.

"This is a significant step to end the 15-month conflict, while additionally providing a chance to deliver fresh humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza," its Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It also voiced hope for the creation of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine, based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as the "way to attaining peace and stability in the region."

In a separate statement, the interim Afghan Foreign Ministry also welcomed the cease-fire news.

The announcement of the cease-fire comes on day 467 of Israel's genocide in Gaza, which has killed and injured over 156,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.

In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.