US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, confirmed on Thursday that the truce between Israel and the Hamas movement, “classified as terrorist in the United States and other countries,” in Gaza is bearing fruit in light of the release of detainees in the Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid, and he expressed his hope that it will continue.
He told reporters during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv, “This process is bearing fruit and is important, and we hope it will continue,” Reuters reported.
Blinken added, “The United States strongly supports Israel in its right to defend itself and its effort to ensure that the events of October 7 do not happen again,” referring to the Hamas attack on southern Israel that caused the outbreak of the Gaza War.
At the beginning of their conversation, Herzog referred to the attack that took place in Jerusalem in which three people were killed. He added: “As we meet, unfortunately, there are victims in a serious terrorist attack at one of the entrances to the city of Jerusalem. Two terrorists attacked innocent citizens who were waiting to go to work.”
“This is another example of the situation we are living in, and the endless war we are waging against terrorist organizations, especially against Hamas, at a complex and challenging time like this. Thank you for being here,” he said.
He added, “As always, you express the support of the United States, on behalf of the President of the United States and his government, and on behalf of the entire American people, and for this I thank you very much.”
In turn, Blinken stressed that his country “supports Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure that October 7 does not happen again.”
On Thursday, Blinken wrote through his account on the “X” platform: “I am happy to see another American among the hostages released in Gaza. The cessation of fighting has proven successful in securing the freedom of the hostages and in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza,” adding, “We want to see it continue.”
On Thursday, the truce between Israel and Hamas was extended at the last minute, for an additional seventh day, which would allow the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The spokesman for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majid bin Mohammed Al-Ansari, said that “the Palestinian and Israeli sides have reached an agreement to extend the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip for an additional day (today, Thursday) under the same previous conditions, which are a ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid,” within the framework of Qatar’s joint mediation with Egypt and the United States.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), the Ministry’s spokesman confirmed the continued intensification of efforts with the aim of reaching a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
For his part, the Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on the
In turn, Hamas confirmed that it had been agreed with Israel to extend the truce for an additional day, according to Agence France-Presse.
A temporary truce began last Friday, and has been extended several times, during which Israel releases Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of those kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.
The war broke out between Israel and Hamas after a surprise attack launched by the movement on military sites and residential areas adjacent to the Gaza Strip, which led to the killing of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, including women and children, and 239 people were kidnapped, according to the Israeli authorities.
Israel responded with intense air, sea, and ground bombardment on the besieged Gaza Strip, followed by a ground operation, which stopped with the start of the truce on Friday. The death toll in Gaza reached 14,854 people, including 6,150 children and more than 4,000 women, in addition to the injury of about 36,000 people, while the number of deaths reached 14,854. The missing: Nearly 7,000 are missing, according to Hamas authorities.
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2023-11-30 08:36:24
