US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud discussed ensuring a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages held by the Palestinian radical Hamas movement during a telephone conversation. This is stated in statement the head of the press service of the US State Department, Matthew Miller, published on February 2.
“The Secretary of State reiterated the importance of ensuring a humanitarian pause, including the release of hostages held by Hamas,” the statement said.
Blinken will visit the Middle East from February 4 to 8 for the fifth time since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Earlier, on January 31, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that the Israeli side was working on another agreement on the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but “not at any cost” because there are “red lines.”
The day before, January 30, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the fighting in the Gaza Strip would not stop even if all the hostages were released. When asked directly whether Israel would cease hostilities without seeking the complete destruction of Hamas, Katz answered in the negative.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on October 7, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and also invaded the border areas in the south of the country and took hostages. On the same day, the Israeli side began retaliating against targets in the enclave.
Palestinians are seeking to return the borders between the two countries to the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses the conditions set.
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