US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed Washington’s position calling for “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to protect civilians and allow foreign nationals to leave, as the Israeli army bombed a Gaza shelter and hospital UN in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken held a news conference in the Jordanian capital Amman on Saturday alongside Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, in his third visit to the region since the start of the war.
While Jordan and Egypt reiterated Arab states’ demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Blinken said humanitarian pauses “can be a critical mechanism to protect civilians, deliver aid and get foreign nationals out of Gaza” while “allowing Israel to achieve its objectives.” its objective”: to defeat Hamas.
“We believe a ceasefire would leave Hamas in place to regroup and repeat its attacks,” Blinken said.
“We discussed ways to accelerate and expand the sustained delivery of aid,” he told reporters, adding that “as Israel conducts its campaign, how it does it matters “.
Middle Eastern countries have played a critical role in preventing the conflict from spreading to the rest of the region, Blinken said, and discussions continue with Qatar on efforts to free hostages in Gaza.
He stressed that even though 100 trucks now pass through Rafah every day, compared to around 20 a week ago, this remains “far from enough”.
“The region sinks into an ocean of hatred”
Safadi said Israel was “committing war crimes” in Gaza and should not be above international law.
He condemned the Hamas attack on October 7, but said the war on Gaza could not continue.
“The entire region is sinking into a sea of hatred that will define generations to come,” Safadi said.
“We do not accept that this is self-defense,” Safadi said, calling for an immediate ceasefire. “This cannot be justified under any circumstances and will not bring security to Israel or peace to the region. »
Safadi also said Blinken had a leading role to play in efforts to end the war.
Shoukry said Egypt was demanding an international investigation into the “egregious” actions seen during the war on Gaza.
“It’s clear that there is dissatisfaction with the way the United States is handling this situation,” Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said from occupied East Jerusalem.
The United States “ineffective” in the region
Blinken’s talks in Amman came as the United States faced criticism from regional leaders for failing to convince Israel to embrace the idea of humanitarian pauses to ease the suffering of civilians in Gaza.
Speaking at a policy conference in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, the UAE President’s diplomatic adviser, Anwar Gargash, said the United States must push for a quick end to the conflict and a new strategy or risk to be considered ineffective by the United States. region.
“If this crisis continues, particularly on the humanitarian level, and if this crisis brings us back to the old policy of containment before October 7, I think that the American role here, forgets good or bad, but it does not will not be considered effective,” Gargash said.
Earlier this week, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel and told him not to return to Jordan until the Gaza crisis was over.
On Saturday, Turkey followed Jordan’s lead and recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations due to the humanitarian crisis and continued Israeli attacks in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was “not someone to talk to anymore.”
Blinken will travel to Turkey on Sunday to meet with Erdogan and senior officials on Monday, the US State Department said.
On Saturday, at least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on the al-Fakhoora school in the Jabalia refugee camp.
9,488 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, most of them women and children, while 1,400 people have died in Israel, most of them during the Hamas attack on October 7.