The hostage exchange between Israelis and Palestinians is a positive step, but will not bring lasting peace unless a Palestinian state is established, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Monday.
"Releasing Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is a good thing, of course, but it won’t solve anything,” Medvedev said on his Telegram channel.
"Until a full-fledged Palestinian state is established in line with the well-known U.N. resolutions, nothing will change. The war will continue. Everyone understands this.”
Hamas released 20 living Israeli hostages early Monday in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian hostages under the first phase of the Gaza cease-fire deal. The Palestinian group said it would also transfer the remains of four Israeli captives on Monday.
Last week, Trump announced that Israel and Hamas had agreed to the first phase of a plan he laid out Sept. 29 to bring a cease-fire to Gaza, release all Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip. The first phase of the deal came into force on Friday.
Phase two of the plan calls for the establishment of a new governing mechanism in Gaza without Hamas’ participation, the formation of a multinational force, and the disarmament of Hamas.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks have killed over 67,800 Palestinians in the enclave, most of them women and children, and rendered it largely uninhabitable.
