US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday in Israel that more work was needed on a hostage deal but voiced hope for success, as he also pleaded for greater aid to war-battered Gaza.
Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day after talks in Qatar, which mediated the reportedly phased deal in which Israel would suspend military operations in return for the release of hostages from Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israel.
"We're looking at it intensely, as is, I know, the government of Israel," Blinken said afterwards as he met Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
"There's a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work, and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted," he added.
Hamas operatives in an unprecedented attack inside Israel on October 7 killed some 1,160 people, mostly civilians, and seized 250 hostages, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
More than 100 hostages were released during a truce that lasted a week in November and Israel says that 132 hostages, including the bodies of 29, remain in Gaza.
Blinken also made a new plea for aid into Gaza, where an Israeli retaliatory campaign has killed more than 27,700 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, and raised UN fears of famine.
"There are so many innocent men, women and children who are suffering as a result of the attacks perpetrated by Hamas and are now being caught in the crossfire of Hamas's making," Blinken said.
"We all have an obligation to do everything possible to get the necessary assistance to those who so desperately need it, and the steps that are being taken -- additional steps that need to be taken -- are the focus of my own meetings here."
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