The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament warmly welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas, and praised Egypt for its effective mediation.

S&D Group MEP and vice-president for foreign affairs Victor Boştinaru said:

"We welcome this agreement and we urge the Israeli government and Hamas to fully respect the ceasefire. We call for a sustainable solution to this crisis.

"We hope that this agreement will allow an opportunity for negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian authorities so that a global peaceful solution can be found for this long-standing conflict.

We call on the EU to be involved in the implementation of the agreement."

Victor Boştinaru also addressed the humanitarian aid situation:

"In the current situation, humanitarian aid should be directed to the reconstruction of Gaza to reduce the suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians."