VOW TO BRING TICE HOME
“I understand the consternation and the concern” on Israel’s part at the talks, Boehler said, adding: “We’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel”.
He described his feelings on sitting across from the militants.
“I think when you walk and you sit in front of somebody, and you know what they’ve done, it’s hard not to think of it,” he said.
He said it was important to identify with their humanity, but admitted, “It definitely feels a little odd knowing what they really are”.
Hamas’s attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,458 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.
Boehler said he felt a “long-term truce” was “a reality. It’s real close.”
