SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good evening, everyone, and thanks for bearing with us through a long day. So this is my fourth trip to Israel since the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7th. On my last visit here, I discussed the potential for humanitarian pauses to facilitate the release of Hamas’s hostages, the surge of humanitarian assistance, the protection of Palestinian civilians. And I said that there were a number of issues that needed to be worked through, but that the United States was committed to achieving these goals. Today – today – marks the seventh day of the humanitarian pause in Gaza that the United States worked closely with Israel, Qatar, and Egypt to put in place. The seventh day that hostages have been freed and are returning home to their families. The seventh day that significantly more humanitarian assistance is getting into the people of Gaza who need it. And the seventh day that civilians in Gaza have been able to move to safer areas. I’ve come, again, here today to advance a number of goals. Our immediate focus is working with our partners to extend the pause so that we can continue to get more hostages out of Gaza and more assistance in. We share the elation, the relief, of the families from more than a dozen countries, including the United States, who’ve been reunited with their loved ones. And yet, there are scores of family here in Israel, the United States, and around the world whose loved ones continue to be held captive and who are desperate to get them home safely. We will not stop working until we get every hostage back home with their families and loved ones. At the same time, we continue to surge humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Together […]
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