American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who landed (Thursday) in Israel met with the country's President Yitzhak Herzog and emphasized the importance of continuing to release the abductees from Gaza.
At the beginning, Herzog referred to the attack this morning in Jerusalem in which 3 people were murdered. "While we are meeting, unfortunately, there are casualties in a serious terrorist attack at the entrance to the city of Jerusalem, our capital. Two terrorists attacked innocent citizens who were waiting to be picked up for work, on their way to go about their day, we have casualties and we also have murdered people who lost their lives. I want to express my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families, and of course, pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said.
According to him, "This is another example of the situation we are in - the endless war we are fighting against the terrorist organizations, and especially against Hamas, in a complex and challenging time like this. I thank you for coming here, as always, you express the support of the United States, on behalf of the President of the United States And his government, and on behalf of the entire American people, for that I thank you very much."
Herzog: "Release the members of the Bibas family immediately"
In the background of the beatings that have taken place so far in which dozens of hostages have been released, Herzog mentioned the other captives in Gaza and demanded the immediate release of the members of the Bibas family. "We are acting and demanding the immediate release of all the hostages, and I thank the United States for the enormous work it is devoting to the release of the hostages.
According to the president, "There are still about 150 hostages held by the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza. I want to raise the plight of the Bibas family, the two small children - a ten-month-old baby, a four-year-old boy, and of course their parents, whose whereabouts are unknown to us - we demand their release Immediately. It's obvious that little toddlers must be released with their mother, and hopefully with their father, as soon as possible."
At the end of his remarks, Herzog referred to the passing of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who passed away tonight in the USA. Mr. Secretary, you are following in the footsteps of a giant, Dr. Henry Kissinger, who left us tonight with a good return. We are big fans of Henry Kissinger who laid the foundations for many of his big decisions, and processes he led, which brought results that we feel to this day, peaceful results.
"He led the cornerstone of the peace agreement that was later signed with Egypt, and he also led other processes around the world. I admired Henry Kissinger. In our last conversation, he ended our exchange by saying: 'President, please know that I have always loved, admired, and supported the country Israel', and thus I always felt his love and compassion for Israel and his faith in the Jewish state."
Blinken: "Looking forward to in-depth talks with the government on the way forward in Gaza"
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken referred to the terrorist attack this morning in Jerusalem at the beginning of his remarks. "Thank you, Mr. President. This is my fourth visit to Israel since October 7. And as you said, we are now reminded again, following the events in Jerusalem today, of the terrorism that threatens the State of Israel and the Israelis every single day. Like you, my heart goes out to the victims of this attack. I believe one person lost their life, maybe even three. We think of them, we think of their families, their loved ones and we mourn their loss just as we mourn the loss of any innocent life."
Blinken noted the release of the captives so far and expressed hope that the process would continue. "From day one, we focused on trying to secure the release of the abductees from Gaza, from Hamas. And over the last week, we have seen the very positive developments of abductees coming home and being reunited with their families - and this should continue today as well," he said.
According to him, "It also enabled to increase the humanitarian aid that reaches innocent citizens in Gaza, who desperately need it. So this process is producing results. This is important and we hope that it will continue. At the same time, I look forward to detailed conversations with the Israeli government about the way ahead in Gaza. The United States Strongly supports Israel and its right to defend itself, and to try to ensure that 'October 7' never happens again."
At the end of the speech, the Secretary of State referred to Kissinger's passing. "Kissinger really set the standard for all who came after him. I had the privilege of receiving his council many times, including up until about a month ago. He was extraordinarily generous with his wisdom and advice. Few were better students of history, Even fewer did more to shape history than Henry Kissinger did."