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Antony Blinken on Gaza war: 'Israel obliged to eliminate Hamas but…'
Antony Blinken said, “It has an obligation to do both and it has a strategic interest to do both.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said that the United States believes Israel has an obligation to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas while minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza.
"We continue to believe that Israel does not have to choose between removing the threat of Hamas and minimizing the toll on civilians in Gaza," Blinken said in an end-of-the-year news conference. “It has an obligation to do both and it has a strategic interest to do both.”
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Antony Blinken said he hopes to have good news to share on prisoners held in Venezuela later on Wednesday, he told reporters at a year-end news conference.
A high-level Venezuelan source earlier on Wednesday said the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro plans to release up to 36 people, including 12 Americans, in exchange for the release by the U.S. government of a Maduro ally.
"We want to make sure that our fellow Americans are released. We are also focused on political prisoners in Venezuela and trying to ensure their release," Blinken said. "And we hope to have some good news to share probably later today."
