Amman, Jordan — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Jordan's king and foreign minister on Sunday and visited a World Food Program warehouse in Amman, as he continued an urgent diplomatic mission in the Middle East to prevent Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza is spreading.
During his fourth visit to the region in three months, Blinken emphasized the need for Israel to adapt its military operations to reduce civilian casualties and significantly increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, while at the same time emphasizing the importance of of detailed plans for the future after the conflict. of territory, which has been decimated by intensive Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives.
After a day of talks with Turkish and Greek leaders in Istanbul and Crete, Blinken met Sunday with Jordan's King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, seeking support for U.S. efforts to address resurgent fears that the three-month-old war could engulf, suppress. the region, increasing aid deliveries to Gaza and preparing for the eventual end of hostilities.
Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel's actions and have shunned public support for long-term planning, arguing that fighting must end before such discussions can begin. They have been demanding an immediate ceasefire since mid-October as the number of civilian casualties began to soar. Israel has refused, and the US has instead called for specific temporary “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid in and people to safety.
Blinken also toured the World Food Program Regional Coordination Warehouse in the Jordanian capital, where trucks are packed with aid to be delivered to Gaza through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
The US has pressured Israel for weeks to allow increased amounts of food, water, fuel, medicine and other supplies into Gaza, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution on December 22 calling for an immediate increase in deliveries. Three weeks ago, Israel opened Kerem Shalom, adding a second access point for aid to Gaza after Rafah.
Yet the number of trucks entering has not increased significantly. According to UN figures, an average of about 120 trucks a day entered through Rafah and Kerem Shalom this week, far below the 500 trucks of goods that came in daily before the war and far below what aid organizations say is needed.
Almost the entire population of 2.3 million people depends on the trucks crossing the border for their survival. One in four Palestinians in Gaza are hungry, and the rest are facing a hunger crisis, according to the UN
More than 85% of people in Gaza have been driven from their homes by Israeli bombing and ground offensives. Most live in UN shelters overcrowded beyond capacity, in newly established tent camps or on the streets. The few functioning hospitals are overwhelmed by both injured and patients due to disease outbreaks as sanitation facilities have collapsed.
In Greece, Blinken said Saturday that his trip would be dominated by “not necessarily easy conversations” with allies and partners about what they are willing to do “to build lasting peace and security.”
Blinken's visit comes as developments in Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq have put major pressure on what had been a modestly successful U.S. effort to avert a regional conflagration since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7 attacked, and because international criticism of the Israeli army's operation mounted.
From Jordan, Blinken will travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and to Saudi Arabia on Monday. He will then visit Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday and Wednesday before wrapping up the trip in Egypt.
“These are not necessarily easy conversations,” he said in Greece. “There are different perspectives, different needs, different requirements, but it is vital that we engage in this diplomacy now, both in the interests of Gaza itself and in the interests of the Gaza Strip more broadly. the future for Israelis and Palestinians and for the region as a whole.”
He said his priorities are protecting civilians – “far too many Palestinians have been killed” – getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza, ensuring Hamas cannot strike again, and developing a framework for Palestinian-led governance in the area and “a Palestinian state with security”. guarantees or Israel.”
Hours before Blinken's rallies on Saturday, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel, saying the barrage was an initial response to the targeted killing, believed to be by Israel, of a top leader of the allied Hamas group in the Lebanese capital this month. last week. Israel responded to what would become one of the heaviest days of cross-border fighting in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, intensified attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have disrupted international trade and led to increased efforts by the US and its allies to patrol the vital commercial waterway and monitor for threats comment. The coalition of countries issued a final warning to the Houthis on Wednesday to halt their attacks on ships or take possible targeted military action. Since December 19, the militants have carried out at least 20 attacks in response to the war between Israel and Hamas.