US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated the United States’ position against an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during his meetings with key Middle Eastern leaders on Saturday, CNN reported.
Blinken expressed concern that a premature ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and attack Israel again. This stance has put the US at odds with its Arab partners, including those he met with in Amman, Jordan.
Instead of endorsing a ceasefire, Blinken emphasized the importance of “humanitarian pauses,” a concept that was opposed by Israeli officials, as reported by CNN.
Blinken said he and his colleagues “all agree on the importance of using our respective influence and capabilities to deter state or non-state actors from opening a new front in this conflict.”
“Throughout this conflict, countries in the Middle East and beyond have played a vital role in preventing its spread,” Blinken said at a news conference in Amman.
Blinken and his colleagues discussed the need to deter state or non-state actors from expanding the conflict, with a shared commitment to preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from escalating further. The US has warned Israel’s opponents, including Hezbollah, against expanding the conflict into a broader war in the Middle East.
At a news conference in Amman, Blinken acknowledged the shared interests and goals of the US and its Arab partners to achieve lasting peace and security in the region, even as they have different views on how to achieve that goal.
The top US diplomat also stressed the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, especially as attacks by Israeli settlers increase. He briefed colleagues yesterday on his conversations with Israeli officials, where he said he “underscored the need to stop incitement and extremist violence and hold perpetrators accountable,” according to CNN.
The mass movement of people from northern Wadi Gaza to the southern part of the enclave has added to growing humanitarian challenges.
US Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs in the Middle East, David Satterfield, estimated that around 8,00,000 to one million people have been displaced, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
“And these points of need are increasing as people move further south,” he added.
The ability to move aid has increased exponentially, especially in the past week, from “virtually zero in terms of ability to move humanitarian aid through the Rafah corridor into Gaza,” Satterfield said, but reiterated that even the current number of aid trucks is transported per day, making the crossing is not sufficient.
While the U.S. believes the current daily flow of trucks into Gaza is sustainable, “it is challenged by the environment on the ground in southern Gaza,” Satterfield said, noting that United Nations warehouses were broken into early this week with basic supplies and food.
“There was… an environment in Gaza that allowed for more normal commercial life, cooking gas, cooking oil, provisions and necessities. That is not the situation now,” he said.
Shelter is also an issue, he added.
“You still have 350,000 or 400,000 in the north. If those individuals – some of them – come south, it will increase the burden and increase demand even more,” he added, according to CNN.
The Israeli army has called on Gazans to move south while intensifying its operations in Gaza City and the northern part of the region. International aid agencies and human rights groups have criticized Israeli evacuation calls, given the ongoing conflict and damaged infrastructure.
Foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar, as well as the secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, met with Blinken in Amman to discuss the situation.
Earlier in the day, Blinken met with Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati to address ongoing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
On Saturday morning, Blinken met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss weeks of tensions between the Iran-backed Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah and Israel along the Israel-Lebanon border, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
A total of 9,425 people have been killed in Israeli offensives in Gaza since October 7, CNN reported on Saturday, citing the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. Another 24,000 people have been injured, according to ministry data from sources within the Hamas-controlled enclave.
The ministry’s report shows that almost 73 percent of victims belong to vulnerable groups, including children, women and the elderly.
The latest figures indicate a sharp increase in the death toll, with 270 more deaths on Saturday than the day before, while the number of injured rose by around 1,000.
The Israeli military continues to maintain a blockade and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to a cross-border terrorist attack initiated by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
Despite calls for a ceasefire from Hamas, humanitarian organizations and a substantial part of the world community, the Israeli government has firmly rejected such calls. They committed to eliminating Hamas after last month’s brutal attack that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, the majority of whom were civilians, CNN reported.