Thousands in Tel Aviv demand release of hostages in Gaza during Blinken's visit

Thousands of Israelis rallied behind families of Hamas-held hostages by staging a protest outside the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon.

The large protest coincided with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's third visit to the Jewish state since the Hamas massacre of 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals on Oct. 7.

The Hamas terror organization is believed to be holding hostage at least 240 Israeli and foreign nationals inside Gaza, including women, children, and elderly Holocaust survivors. In flagrant violation of international law, Hamas continues to deny the Red Cross to access the hostages.

The families of the hostages have vowed to set up a tent camp outside of the Israeli defense ministry until their loved ones are released. In addition, the protesters oppose any talks of ceasefire or humanitarian aid to Gaza as long as their family members are held captive by terrorists inside the Gaza Strip.

“The families of the hostages will sleep in front of the ministry,” the families said in a joint statement.

Ahead of his third trip to Israel since the war against Hamas began, Blinken stressed the need for protecting civilians and preventing the conflict from spreading across the combustible Middle East region.

"On my way to Tel Aviv for more diplomacy during an incredibly challenging time. We will continue to work with regional leaders to protect civilians and prevent the spread of conflict," the U.S. top diplomat stated.

However, Blinken emphasized the need to balance humanitarian aid to Gaza with Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense.

“Returned to Israel for meetings with @IsraeliPM Netanyahu, President @Isaac Herzog and other government leaders. Will discuss Israel’s right to defend itself and our work to get humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”

Israel has so far resisted international pressure to permit the inflow of fuel to Gaza due to well-grounded concerns that such resources would end up in the hands of Hamas. Fuel is a crucial component in enabling the terror group’s continued warfare against the Jewish state.

The Biden administration has called for a temporary ceasefire to enable the inflow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire as long as the hostages are still held by Hamas in Gaza.

“We won’t stop until victory,” the Israeli premier vowed, adding that the Jewish state aims “to destroy Hamas, [and attain the] return of the hostages and the restoration of security for our citizens and children.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon confirmed that Washington had deployed reconnaissance drone flights over Gaza to assist Israel in locating the more than 240 hostages for the last 4 weeks.

“In support of hostage recovery efforts, the US is conducting unarmed UAV flights over Gaza, as well as providing advice and assistance to support our Israeli partner as they work on their hostage recovery efforts,” Pentagon spokesman Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

Public information regarding the whereabouts of the hostages is unsurprisingly scant. However, pundits believe that Hamas and other terror groups have deliberately spread out the hostages across the Gaza Strip to make a potential rescue operation much more difficult.