U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken embarked on his third trip amid rising tensions as the Gaza situation again edged toward renewed violence. After intense negotiations over a possible ceasefire extension, Hebrew officials and Hamas appeared to reach a brief accord just ten minutes before the deadline to extend for another day. It remained uncertain whether the parties would push to a Friday morning overtime. During his visit, Blinken urged continued restraint and lauded the apparent gains, speaking before Israeli President Isaac Herzog. He also reminded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the obligation to weigh humanitarian and civilian protection needs before any military moves in the southern Gaza region and urged Israel to take every precaution to prevent civilian harm. He warned the war cabinet that clashes could intensify if fighting spilled southward, drawing international pressure into the mix. On the so-called last day of the ceasefire, two more hostages were released; one of them a French citizen who figures prominently in the first Hamas prisoner video released since October 7.
Blinken then returned to reaffirm the Biden administration’s core message. Washington fears that Netanyahu’s pledge to escalate military operations in Gaza could come to pass once the ceasefire ends, particularly as civilian deaths mount in both the southern and central Gaza areas. Israel has ordered more than a million Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza to avoid the fighting, a move that has raised concerns about civilian safety. John Kirby, the White House senior aide for strategic communications, stressed that the United States does not endorse southern operations until Israel demonstrates that it is protecting internally displaced people in Gaza.
In discussions with the Israeli war cabinet, Blinken stressed that the next phase would not be authorized unless Israel could convincingly reduce civilian harm. He asked for a realistic timeline for how long the southern conflict might endure after the ceasefire and warned that widespread civilian suffering or a deep humanitarian crisis could prompt faster Western intervention. The United States pledged continued support for Israel, while also pressing for the release of remaining hostages and faster delivery of life-saving aid to Gaza.
Throughout the talks, Blinken reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself within the bounds of international humanitarian law, while pressing for accountability for attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank. He then met with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, in Ramallah, reiterating Washington’s commitment to concrete steps toward a Palestinian state and to measures that would increase security and freedom for Palestinians in the West Bank. Abbas indicated willingness for the Palestinian Authority to assume governance in Gaza if conditions permit in the near term.
247 Palestinians were killed
By Wednesday night, hostages and prisoners exchange progress stood at multiple fronts: roughly 100 hostages had been released, including about 75 Israelis and 24 foreigners, in return for more than 100 Palestinian prisoners. Since the ceasefire began, more than 1,100 humanitarian aid trucks have entered Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Gaza’s government press office cautioned that aid flows were slow and urged the dispatch of a higher daily number of trucks — ideally about 1,000 — to reach residential areas where several people had died and thousands remained unaccounted for under the rubble. The toll continued to rise as the hospital system faced severe strain, with at least 15,000 people recorded dead and an estimated 7,000 still missing or feared buried. About 26 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals were out of service, severely limiting care for the roughly 36,000 injured.
Egyptian and Qatari mediators pressed for a two-day extension of the ceasefire and a broader detainee release. A senior Hamas official noted concern over the terms of the extension, signaling that the proposals to extend the truce did not meet their expectations. Blinken, in statements to Herzog, signaled continued willingness to negotiate in Gaza, signaling that further discussions would focus on practical steps toward stability and humanitarian access.
Meanwhile, violence persisted in Jerusalem where a deadly attack occurred in the western part of the city stretching the day’s tensions. Several people were killed and others injured near a bus stop on a main entry point to the city as security forces engaged the assailants. In the occupied West Bank, clashes erupted near Ofer prison during the prisoner releases, as the Palestinian Health Ministry reported the death of a 21-year-old youth. The deadliest days have followed a pattern of heavy activity, with ongoing clashes and concerns about the safety of civilians in the region.