GENEVA, October 15. /TASS/. The situation in the Gaza Strip remains unstable despite the start of a ceasefire, Special Presidential Envoy and Palestine’s former Prime Minister (2019-2024) Mohammad Shtayyeh said.
"We're more than happy that a ceasefire has been reached, as you know, and that it's our hope that it will be sustainable," he said at a UN briefing for accredited reporters in Geneva.
"The situation is still fragile, I should say," the envoy said, pointing out that "food aid has not been fully delivered to Gaza." Additionally, not all checkpoints have been opened, Shtayyeh said, noting that the "Rafah crossing was opened only this morning."
On October 9, representatives from Israel and the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas signed an agreement on implementing the first phase of a peace plan earlier presented by US President Donald Trump. According to him, all hostages are expected to be freed soon, while Israeli troops will be withdrawn to an agreed-upon line.
Overnight on October 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the government had approved the hostage release deal. The Gaza ceasefire agreement came into effect at 9:00 a.m. GMT and Israeli troops began positioning themselves along adjusted deployment lines.