Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says that security cabinet will meet on Friday following earlier delays in talks to release hostages in return for ceasefire

• Analysis: Islamist groups will emerge from Gaza war weakened

During his final press conference earlier on Thursday, US secretary of state Antony Blinken was heckled by two journalists who criticised him for his support for the war in Gaza.

That includes providing Israel with diplomatic support at the UN – blocking multiple calls for a ceasefire – and continuing to send billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel despite concerns within his own department it is committing human rights violations. Reuters reports:

“Criminal! Why aren’t you in The Hague,” shouted Sam Husseini, an independent journalist and longtime critic of Washington’s approach to the world. The Hague is where the International Criminal Court is located.

The unusually confrontational scene in the State Department briefing room only ended when security personnel forcibly picked up Husseini and carried him out of the room as he continued to heckle Blinken.