European leaders have expressed hope that the first phase of the agreement reached between Hamas and Israel on Wednesday could lead to a longer peace.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the agreement “must now be implemented to the letter,” adding: “This ceasefire opens the door to a permanent end to the war and to improving the poor humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the “long overdue news” of the agreement and called for “a huge increase in humanitarian aid” to the stricken enclave.

Starmer welcomed the release of the hostages expected to return home under Wednesday’s agreement, who were “torn from their homes that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since,” while also paying tribute to those who did won’t make it home. “including the British people murdered by Hamas.”