U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed today, Thursday, that the exchange of prisoners between Israel and the Palestinians must continue and that he expects deep talks in Israel, where he began his visit this morning.. where Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following Blinken's meeting with Netanyahu, he met with the ministers who are members of the emergency government managing the war on Gaza, and Netanyahu said according to Israeli media: "I would like to express our appreciation for your support since the beginning of the road, to the President and to you personally, in the war to eliminate Hamas and ensure the release of our abductees."

During Blinken's meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken pointed out that the United States has focused since day one on trying to ensure the release of Israelis detained by the resistance in the Gaza Strip.. adding, "We have seen during the past week very positive developments of detainees returning to their homes, and this should continue today as well, and this also allowed for an increase in humanitarian aid reaching innocent civilians in Gaza."

He continued that "this process is bearing fruit and this is important, and we hope it continues, and alongside that I expect in-depth talks with the Israeli government about continuing the path in Gaza, and the United States strongly supports Israel in trying to prevent events similar to what happened on October 7."

He confirmed that the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas has achieved good results, noting that Washington hopes it continues.

He added, "The truce has contributed to increasing the humanitarian aid directed to innocent civilians in Gaza who are in desperate need of it, so this process is achieving important results."

For his part, Herzog said, "We are working and demanding the immediate release of all detainees, and I thank the United States for the great work it is doing to liberate the detainees, and there are still about 150 detainees held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip."

In a related context, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said she participated in at least 14 conversations between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Harris explained that during these conversations President Biden raised the fact that many Palestinians were killed as a result of the military operations in the Gaza Strip, and that Biden stressed Israel's need to do its utmost to protect innocent civilians.

It is noteworthy that President Biden's administration has issued warnings to Israel that the campaign in the southern Gaza Strip should not be on the same level of destruction as that which occurred in the northern part of the strip.