EU Parliament chief urges full respect for Gaza ceasefire

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Friday called for the Gaza ceasefire plan to be "respected" and "thoroughly implemented."

"This is a moment for peace and renewal in the Middle East. It opens a path that could finally end the intergenerational cycle of violence, of suffering and terror that has plagued the region. It must be respected and it must be thoroughly implemented," she said during the Riga Conference held in Latvia.

Metsola also reiterated that they welcomed the agreement.

The Israeli government approved an agreement to end the war in Gaza and exchange prisoners with Palestinian factions, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office said in a statement early Friday.

A ceasefire became effective immediately after Israel's approval, according to Israeli media.

On Sept. 29, Trump unveiled a 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza that includes the release of all Israeli captives in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip.

A second phase of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without the Palestinian group Hamas' participation, the formation of a security force comprising Palestinians and troops from Arab and Islamic countries, and the disarmament of Hamas. It also stipulates Arab and Islamic funding for the new administration and the reconstruction of the strip, with limited participation from the Palestinian Authority.

Arab and Muslim countries have, by and large, welcomed the plan, but some officials have also said that many details in it need discussion and negotiations to be fully implemented.

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed nearly 67,200 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it uninhabitable.