Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday reportedly comforted an Israeli survivor of the terrorist attacks last weekend, telling a young woman who escaped the siege at a music festival that the U.S. is "trying to do everything we can" to free the hostages who were taken.
Blinken had the exchange at a donation center in Tel Aviv, Israel, where the woman thanked Blinken "for being here and speaking to me," Mediaite reported.
"It means a lot," the unidentified woman told Blinken.
"I am so sorry you are going through this," Blinken told her. "I admire your strength. And also, telling your stories makes a big difference; the world needs to see this."
Hamas terrorists killed around 260 at the music festival. Further, Hamas abducted and is thought to be holding roughly 150 hostages in the tunnels beneath Gaza. Hamas has made its demands but Israel has vowed a relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip — with no humanitarian break — until the hostages are freed.
Blinken also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, saying, "We're here; we're not going anywhere."
In addition to Israel, Blinken is planning to make several stops across the Middle East, including Jordan. Meanwhile, Blinken and the Biden administration are warning Iran to stay out of the Gaza siege.
But at this stop in Tel Aviv, Blinken was in support mode.
"And there are a lot of friends that are kept captive now in Gaza. And we were saved by a miracle, but there are friends that we love that weren't," the woman told Blinken. "Thank you for being here. It's really important."
Blinken replied, "We are thinking of them and trying to do everything we can. We want to bring them home."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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