Scholz: ceasefire in Gaza is “very good news”
The Federal Chancellor welcomes the agreement between Israel and Hamas. And he says what he believes is important now.

Berlin (dpa) – Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has described the agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners as “very good news”. “The agreement must now be consistently put into practice on a step-by-step basis,” he said. “The suffering of the hostages and their families’ agony of uncertainty must finally come to an end.” Scholz pledged additional aid including food and medical support for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, who face enormous hardship.
“This agreement on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip offers the chance of a permanent end to the war,” said Scholz after a meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Berlin. He called on Hamas to lay down its weapons “once and for all”. “The Hamas terror must come to an end,” he said, adding that he believed a lasting resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was only possible based on a two-state solution.