Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

“[This is] a crucial first step toward de-escalation in the region. We hope this paves the way for long-term stability in the Middle East,” Prime Minister Barzani posted on X.

On Thursday, Israel and the Hamas political movement agreed to a ceasefire and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, marking the first stage of U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace initiative aimed at ending the war in Gaza.

During the MERI Forum on Wednesday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also endorsed “President Trump’s approach to achieving peace in the Middle East and his efforts to establish peace in Gaza as soon as possible.

The deal sponsored by President Trump to end the agony of war between Israelis and Gazaians is a turning point in the ME peace process. Yet unresolved issues could jeopardize the deal due to lack of trust. The deal is a package and should be implemented as a whole in good faith.

— Hoshyar Zebari (@HoshyarZebari) October 9, 2025

“As Kurds, we maintain a strong relationship with the United States, which is not a recent development but rather a longstanding one,’ he said during a panel.

Senior Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official and former Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebar also welcomed the deal in a post on X.

“The deal sponsored by President Trump to end the agony of war between Israelis and Gazaians is a turning point in the ME peace process,” he wrote.

However, the senior diplomat warned that “yet unresolved issues could jeopardize the deal due to lack of trust. The deal is a package and should be implemented as a whole in good faith.”