"The Secretary-General welcomes last night’s ceasefire agreement in Israel and Gaza," Dujarric said on Sunday, adding that Guterres "commends Egypt’s key role in bringing the hostilities to an end, alongside the efforts of Qatar, Lebanon and the United States to reach a ceasefire. He calls on all sides to observe the ceasefire."
The Secretary-General also extended his condolences to the families of the hostilities that "have led to needless human suffering."
Guterres reiterated UN commitment to achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and stressed that lasting peace can only be achieved through political negotiations.
On Saturday, Egyptian media reported that the ceasefire mediated by Cairo would take effect at 10 p.m. local time on Saturday (19:00 GMT). The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed in a statement that the truce was coming into force and thanked Egypt for helping secure the ceasefire.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said late on Saturday night that they had struck targets in the Gaza Strip after the Egypt-mediated ceasefire came into force, in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
The Egypt-mediated ceasefire appeared to hold on Sunday, ending five straight days of violence that left 33 Palestinians dead, including women, children and Islamic Jihad militants. Rockets fired from Gaza killed at least one Israeli woman.
On Tuesday night, Israel launched the "Shield and Arrow" operation conducting airstrikes against Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants in the Gaza Strip. In response, militants of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired over 500 rockets at Israel, according to Israel Defense Forces.