By Paul Adams in Jerusalem, Anthony Zucher in Tel Aviv & Graeme Baker BBC News
Israel has rebuffed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s call for a “humanitarian pause” in Gaza.
Mr Blinken said he had discussed the idea with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials during their talks in Tel Aviv.
But in a TV statement minutes later, Mr Netanyahu said Israel rejected “a temporary ceasefire that does not include the release of our hostages”.
He said that Israel was “continuing with all our force” against Hamas.
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If Western countries actually cared for human rights, they’d be blockading Israel right now until they agreed to stop the indiscriminate harm towards civilians. US politicians are asking for the bare minimum, and even that is far too much for Israel. It cannot be explained by anything other than bloodlust.