The Israeli authorities will not agree to any temporary truce with Hamas until more than 240 hostages taken during the October 7 attacks are released, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Source. This was reported by Reuters.
"Israel refuses a temporary truce that does not include the return of our hostages," he said during a televised address. Earlier today, Hamas announced its readiness to release Israeli hostages if Israel releases all Palestinians from prisons and "stops the aggression."
Netanyahu spoke on Friday shortly after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The latter insisted that Israel suspend its military actions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Blinken also called on Israel to do more to protect civilians from attacks.
The U.S. Secretary of State, who arrived in Israel today for the third time since the start of the war, said after the talks that "humanitarian pauses" in the conflict are "critical" to protecting civilians and were "an important topic of discussion" with Israeli leaders. According to him, the United States believes that such pauses will allow more aid to reach Gaza.
CNN, citing an anonymous source, reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, during a meeting with Blinken on Friday, warned that Israel would agree to suspend hostilities only in exchange for the release of hostages.
Background. As reported, the United States launched MQ-9 Reaper reconnaissance drones over the Gaza Strip. These drones are not involved in the Israeli military operation, but are looking for hostages.