The protestors also called for a ceasefire and another prisoner exchange deal, according to Anadolu.
Dozens of Israelis demonstrated on Tuesday in front of the hotel where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli President Isaac Herzog met in Tel Aviv, demanding the release of captives, Anadolu News Agency reported.
The protesters reportedly carried banners and chanted slogans calling on US President Joe Biden to help release Israeli captives held in Gaza during the October 7 military operation by Hamas.
They also called for a ceasefire and another prisoner exchange deal, according to Anadolu.
I’m in the Middle East this week to meet with our partners in the region on the situation in Gaza.
These are not necessarily easy conversations. But it is vital that we engage in this diplomacy now both for the future of Gaza itself and for Israelis and Palestinians alike. pic.twitter.com/mk9VWOZNhl
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 7, 2024
Blinken, on his fourth visit to the region since October, met Herzog, and counterpart Israel Katz, and is due to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US Secretary arrived in Israel on Monday. He is scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog, followed by meetings with his counterpart Israel Katz, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He will also reportedly hold a session with families of Israeli hostages in Gaza and opposition leader Yair Lapid
Blinken is expected to discuss with Israeli officials steps to avoid further escalation on the front with Hezbollah in the wake of the recent killing of Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri and Hezbollah’s senior military commander Wissam al-Tawil.
A protest outside the Tel Aviv hotel where Blinken is meeting Israeli officials, with people holding placards calling for Israel to agree to a ceasefire in order to help free the Israeli hostages. pic.twitter.com/5pq1kkpD44
— Iain Marlow (@iainmarlow) January 9, 2024
He will also reportedly urge Israel to decrease the number of casualties in Gaza, increase the humanitarian aid into Gaza and ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from the enclave.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 23,210 Palestinians have been killed, and 59,167 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7. Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(PC, Anadolu)
Blinken is an automaton, bound by duty to the most oppressive regime in the world: America. It is public info that America armed ” Palestine ” in September of 2023. then one month later there was an
” attack ” …how convenient! this has been a proxy war for decades. now America is 34 TRILLION in debt. it increased by 1 Trillion in around 3 months. why??? because America controls and regulates terrorism all over the world. i object to what my government has done. i do all i can to fix it, but unfortunately it’s bigger than all of us. We the People keep trying to rectify this but we are up against a crafty league of sociopaths, drug-addicts and pedophiles bent on world domination.