Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 20, 2023
From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 20, 2023
Blinken balks on question regarding Hamas office in Qatar
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, right, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, attend a meeting, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is asked during a press conference about whether the US still supports Qatar hosting Hamas’s political bureau, after Doha helped secure the release of two American hostages.
“You’ll understand that because this is an ongoing effort to get the Americans who are hostage at this moment in Gaza out… I really can’t go into any details about what we’re doing, how we’re doing it. All I can say with regard to Qatar is, in this instance, we very much appreciate their assistance,” Blinken says.
