Arab League hopes Gaza truce leads to comprehensive cease-fire

CAIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit welcomed on Wednesday the humanitarian truce newly reached between Israel and Palestinian armed faction Hamas in the Gaza Strip, hoping it would lead to "a comprehensive cease-fire" in the besieged enclave.

"Aboul-Gheit expressed his hope that the announced truce would lead to a comprehensive cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and an end to the brutal Israeli aggression against its civilian population," the Cairo-based, pan-Arab organization said in a statement.

The AL chief praised Egypt and Qatar for their mediation efforts that resulted in the truce reached earlier on Wednesday, which includes a swap between Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel. Israel will also allow more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, according to the deal.

The AL secretary-general called for developing the truce, describing it as "an opportunity to achieve a complete cessation of hostilities."

Aboul-Gheit emphasized that "the only way" out of the recurring cycles of violence in the Middle East is to work out a comprehensive political solution to the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution.

Under the truce deal, at least 50 hostages, mainly children and women, would be freed for the release of about 150 female and teen Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Wednesday.

Gaza has been under massive Israeli siege and bombardment since Oct. 7, which has killed so far more than 14,000 Palestinians. The Israeli escalation came in retaliation for an attack by the Gaza-ruling Hamas that killed about 1,200 in Israel, with Hamas taking more than 200 as hostages. The data is based on official statements on both sides.