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Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles has praised United States President Donald Trump for the “incredible scenes” of Israeli hostages being reunited with their families.
“At this moment, there is enormous credit which goes to President Trump and his administration,” he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
“Having arrived at this moment is an enormous achievement, and one which will be remembered by history.”
Last week, Israel’s government ratified a ceasefire — part of a 20-point peace plan — with the Palestinian military and political and militant group Hamas, which led to the suspension of hostilities.
The agreement secured the release of Israeli hostages as well as almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees and resulted in humanitarian aid trucks starting to flow into the besieged strip.
Marles said as the world rejoiced over the hostage release, “seeing the ability of Gaza to rebuild is also a huge moment”.
Omri Miran’s (left) wife reacts to seeing her husband after he was released from Gaza. Source: AFP / Israeli Army
“Given all that has played out over the course of the last two years, this is a moment that must be grabbed by the region and the world to see a peace which is enduring, and that can only occur through the establishment of two states,” Marles said.
It echoed remarks by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who said Trump “deserves enormous congratulations”.
“We haven’t seen this sort of progress in the Middle East for some time,” Wong told ABC News on Monday night.
“And he’s [Trump] brought, you know, this conflict to a pause and hopefully to an end, and has a pathway to peace that he’s been so critical in articulating,” Wong said.
Wong said while Australia hopes to contribute momentum to peace, Australia has not been approached to join an international stabilisation force in the region.
