Leaders in the U.S. and around the world commended the recent Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal on Wednesday.

The response to the deal was overwhelmingly positive. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that she was “very encouraged” to see the cease-fire come to fruition.

“This is something I’ve called for many, many months over the last year since the horrific, barbaric attack on innocent civilians in Israel that occurred on October 7 of last year,” Hochul said. “My main priority has been bringing home the hostages.”

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., wrote on X that he felt “an indescribable sense of relief,” about the return of the hostages.

“The return of the hostages will mark the beginning of closure for Israelis and Jews, as well as countless others, who continue to be deeply affected by the indelible terror and trauma of October 7th,” Torres wrote. “The hostages have been brought home by the power of the world’s most powerful friendship – the US-Israel relationship.”

The deal also attracted international attention. In a statement, British Prime Minister Kier Starmer called the cease-fire “long-overdue news.”

“[The Israeli and Palestinian people] have borne the brunt of this conflict – triggered by the brutal terrorists of Hamas, who committed the deadliest massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust on October 7th, 2023,” Starmer said. “The hostages, who were brutally ripped from their homes on that day and held captive in unimaginable conditions ever since, can now finally return to their families.

“But we should also use this moment to pay tribute to those who won’t make it home – including the British people who were murdered by Hamas. We will continue to mourn and remember them. “

In an X post translated from French to English, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the cease-fire must be respected.

“After 15 months of unjustifiable ordeal, immense relief for the Gazans, hope for the hostages and their families,” Macron said. He also referenced Ohad Yahalomi and Ofer Calderon, two French-Israeli hostages.

This is an excerpt from an article by Andrea Margolis.