Antony Blinken to return to Israel as future of temporary ceasefire is still uncertain

(Tel Aviv, Israel) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel and the West Bank this week with the goal of extending a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.  

While speaking from NATO's headquarters in Brussels today, Blinken said extending the pause will allow more hostages to get out and more humanitarian aid to get into the Gaza Strip. It will be Blinken's third trip to the region since Hamas launched a brutal attack on Israel in early October. A temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is set to end today.  

Yesterday, Hamas released 12 more hostages and Israel freed 30 additional Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. This is in addition to the innitial ceasefire agreed upon by Israel and Hamas, which led to at least 50 Israeli hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinians.