Somalia hails Sharm el-Sheikh ceasefire framework, calls it a ‘genuine step’ toward peace
Somalia has welcomed a ceasefire framework announced in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, saying the effort to halt the war between Israel and Hamas could open a narrow but crucial window for humanitarian relief and political talks long seen as out of reach.
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In a statement late Thursday, Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced support for the regional and international mediation that produced the agreement, which aims to secure a ceasefire, facilitate aid into Gaza, release detainees and hostages, and restart political negotiations under international sponsorship.
“Somalia hopes that this agreement will serve as a genuine step towards achieving a just and comprehensive peace,” the ministry said, adding that Mogadishu “reaffirms its steadfast support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people — foremost among them, the right to establish an independent and sovereign state.”
What Mogadishu said
Somalia framed its endorsement around principles of international law and human dignity. The foreign ministry’s language echoed that of the African Union and the Arab League in recent months: a ceasefire to stop the bleeding, corridors for food and medicine, and a path back to political negotiations that have withered over the past decade.
“This principled stance reflects Somalia’s firm commitment to the values of dignity, justice, and peaceful coexistence,” the statement added. The government also backed “all efforts and initiatives aimed at protecting human dignity [and] reinforcing respect for international law,” a formulation that situates Somalia squarely within a broader global appeal for de-escalation and accountability.
What’s in the deal — at a glance
- A ceasefire framework intended to halt hostilities between Israel and Hamas.
- Mechanisms to scale up humanitarian aid into Gaza, where agencies report acute shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies.
- Provisions for the release of hostages held in Gaza and Palestinian detainees held by Israel.
- Commitments to resume political negotiations under international auspices.
Egypt has played point on mediation in Sharm el-Sheikh, with Qatar and the United States long part of the diplomatic triangle trying to stitch together phased pauses, exchanges, and a path to broader talks. The details, as ever, will be decisive: verification, sequencing, and guarantees against backsliding.
A region searching for off-ramps
The Gaza war has redrawn the map of risk across the Middle East. Exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah have kept Lebanon on a knife’s edge. Yemen’s Houthi movement has disrupted shipping in the Red Sea, rerouting global trade and pushing up insurance costs. Iran’s shadow looms over many of these fronts, even as Tehran insists it seeks to avoid a direct war.
Diplomatically, Israel has faced growing isolation, including sharp criticism at the United Nations from partners that historically tread carefully. In Washington and European capitals, the brutal arithmetic of the war — tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, according to health authorities there, along with prolonged displacement and widespread destruction — has intensified calls for restraint and a plan for what comes next. The families of hostages still in Gaza and of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons have become the human face of a conflict too often reduced to metrics.
Why Somalia’s voice matters
On paper, Mogadishu’s statement looks like a standard note of support. In practice, the Horn of Africa has real stakes in how this war ends. Somalia’s economy — and the food security of its people — is tethered to unimpeded shipping through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Disruptions there ripple into Somali ports and markets. When grain shipments slow or freights spike, it is Somalia’s families and its resilient merchant networks that feel the shock first.
Somalia also belongs to the African Union, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, positioning it at a crossroads of diplomatic fora where any roadmap for Gaza will be debated and, ideally, reinforced. For a country rebuilding from conflict and anchoring itself in international norms, speaking clearly about ceasefires, humanitarian law, and political solutions is more than posture — it’s part of how Somalia asserts the kind of rules-based order it seeks at home.
There is a cultural layer, too. In Mogadishu’s tea houses and in Somali diaspora communities from Minneapolis to Dubai, the Gaza war is not an abstraction. It is a daily subject of prayer and debate, often braided with lived memories of siege and displacement. That empathy does not replace policy, but it often sustains it.
The human ledger — and a narrow opening
Gaza’s humanitarian collapse has been deep and prolonged. Aid agencies track widespread hunger and malnutrition, the grinding collapse of healthcare, and a generation of children growing up amid trauma. In Israel, communities scarred by the October 7 attacks and the long months since have been defined by grief and a determined effort to bring hostages home. Two truths sit side by side: one community mourning mass casualties and displacement; another living with the fear that loved ones may never return.
A ceasefire — if it holds — buys time. Time for food to move. For hospitals to restock. For families to see the living come home and the dead buried. For negotiators to sketch the difficult next phase: governance in Gaza, the renewal of Palestinian politics, security arrangements that stop the pendulum of reprisal, and a credible horizon for a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
What to watch next
- Implementation: Who verifies compliance, and what happens when violations occur? The credibility of monitors will matter.
- Sequencing: The order and pace of prisoner and hostage releases can make or break public confidence.
- Aid access: Opening and securing corridors — and depoliticizing their operation — will test all parties.
- Political track: International sponsorship is essential, but ownership by Israelis and Palestinians will decide whether talks have traction.
- Regional de-escalation: Calming the Lebanon front and deterring further Red Sea disruptions are part of the same equation.
Peace processes often falter not on principles but on trust and timing. Can this framework insulate civilians from the next shock long enough to rebuild confidence? Can leaders on all sides persuade their constituents that compromise is not a synonym for defeat? And can the region’s heavyweights — Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran — nudge the arc away from perpetual crisis toward something more durable?
Somalia, from its seat on the Horn, has placed its bet on diplomacy, law, and dignity. The words are familiar; the challenge is not. For the people of Gaza and the families still waiting for news of their loved ones, the clock is unforgiving. For the diplomats in Sharm el-Sheikh, the test starts now.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
