JERUSALEM, Israel – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his eighth visit to Israel since the beginning of the war.
He came to lobby for the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hamas.
"It's clear that virtually the entire world has come together in support of the proposal, and the only open question is will Hamas say yes?," Blinken said.
Hamas demands that Israel agree to the end of the war and the withdrawal of all Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip – both non-starters for Israel.
After the October 7th Hamas massacre, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust, Israel's goal is to destroy the terror group so October 7th is not repeated.
At the United Nations, the Security Council approved that U.S. resolution. It calls for the return of the hostages and an end to the war through a three-phased plan.
Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority welcomed the resolution.
It calls for a two-state solution and "stresses the importance of unifying the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority."
Itamar Marcus, founder of the Palestinian Media Watch, believes that language in the resolution is dangerous.
“We saw the October 7th massacre by Hamas, which was a direct result of Palestinian Authority education, not Hamas education," Marcus noted.
Marcus dismisses the claim by the State Department that the P.A. has been "revitalized."
"The problem is that the Palestinian Authority teaches its people that Israel has no right to exist – that killing Jews is something that Allah wants; that destroying Israel is not only a national goal for Palestinians, but it's also a goal for Islam because Israel is on holy Islamic land," Marcus asserted, and added, "These are the things that have to be changed in the Palestinian Authority, and we haven't seen any indication of any change at all in the new government."
Meanwhile, newly released footage from Saturday's hostage rescue shows Israeli security forces charging into the apartment where the three male hostages were held, asking them to identify themselves, and then rushing outside and away to freedom under heavy gunfire.
The hostages are hurried to a beach and helicopters ferried them back into Israel.
IDF Chief Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the rescue forces came under heavy fire by Hamas shooting from among civilians.
The hostages seem well from their appearance in videos and photos, but the director of the medical center where they first were examined explained there's been much damage on the inside.
Sheba Medical Center Director Itai Pessach stated, "All of them are in severe nutritional deficiency with significantly decreased muscle mass."
He added, "They have endured significant impact to their physical state. "They are very excited to meet family members and friends that they have not seen, but gradually and slowly, the very difficult and hard stories of the time they spent in captivity start to come out."
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
Did you know?
God is everywhere—even in the news. That’s why we view every news story through the lens of faith. We are committed to delivering quality independent Christian journalism you can trust. But it takes a lot of hard work, time, and money to do what we do. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1.
Support CBN News
