Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday again rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza until all of the more than 240 hostages captured by Hamas during its 7 October attack are returned. “There will be no ceasefire without the return of our hostages, we say this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue until we beat them,” Reuters Netanyahu told air and ground crews at the Ramon air force base in southern Israel, reiterating the government’s position.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to meet Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah after meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan. A spokesman for Abbas said after the meeting that the Palestinian president had called for an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Al Jazeera reported small protests against the visit took place.
