ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire deal reached on Wednesday, calling for its immediate and full implementation.

“It is hoped that the truce would lead to permanent ceasefire and help in scaling up humanitarian assistance,” a Foreign Office statement said.

It said that the indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupation forces had caused unprecedented loss of lives and property and displacement of hundreds of thousands of innocent civilian Palestinians. Israel’s expansionist designs have destabilised the entire region, it added.

The Foreign Office also reiterated Pakistan’s support for a just, comprehensive, and durable solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine based on pre-June 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

On the other han,  deal agreed on Wednesday is expected to halt the fighting in the devastated Palestinian territory for an initial 42 days, with 33 hostages held in Gaza released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Crowds of Gazans chanted and embraced as news spread that a ceasefire and hostage release deal had been reached between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending more than 15 months of war in the Palestinian territory.

After a US official and a source close to the negotiations first revealed the agreement, Israel cautioned that several points “remain unresolved” that it hoped would be addressed.

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But celebrations were already underway in Gaza, crowds of people hugging and taking photos to mark the announcement.