US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday during a visit to Israel that a temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war was “producing results” and should continue.
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As part of the pause in fighting, now in its seventh day, Hamas has released scores of hostages taken during its bloody attack on Israel on October 7 in exchange for the release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails.

“We have seen over the last week the very positive development of hostages coming home, being reunited with their families,” Blinken said at a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

“It’s also enabled an increase in humanitarian assistance to go to innocent civilians in Gaza who need it desperately.
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“So this process is producing results. It’s important, and we hope that it can continue.”

Blinken, in the region for a third time since the war began, is also expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.

Before he arrived, Blinken said his trip would focus on extending the truce to ensuring the release of more hostages and the continued delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip.
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