Blinken in Jordan to discuss regional tensions over Gaza war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with Jordan’s king and foreign minister and visited a World Food Programme warehouse in Amman. 

He is pressing ahead with an urgent Middle East diplomatic mission to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from engulfing the wider region. 

On his fourth visit to the Middle East in three months, Blinken stressed the need for Israel to adjust its military operations to reduce civilian casualties and significantly boost the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the Palestinians. 

He also highlighted the importance of preparing detailed plans for a post-war Gaza,  which has been decimated by intensive Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. 

After talks with Turkish and Greek leaders, Blinken met on Sunday with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. 

He is seeking buy-in for US efforts to stop the three-month-old war from spreading through the region, ramp up aid deliveries to Gaza and prepare for the eventual end of hostilities.

King Abdullah II “warned of the catastrophic repercussions” of the Gaza war, plus called on the US to press for an immediate ceasefire, according to a statement from the Royal Court.

Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel’s actions, arguing that the fighting must end before discussions on Gaza’s future can begin.

They have demanded a ceasefire since mid-October as civilian casualties began to skyrocket. 

Israel has refused and  Washington has instead called for temporary “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to get in and people to get to safety.

The US has pressed Israel for weeks to let greater amounts of food, water, fuel, medicine and other supplies into Gaza, and the UN Security Council passed a resolution on 22 December, calling for an immediate increase in deliveries.

Three weeks ago, Israel opened Kerem Shalom, adding a second entry point for aid into Gaza after Rafah.

Still, the rate of trucks entering has not risen significantly. 

An average of around 120 trucks a day entered through Rafah and Kerem Shalom this week, according to UN figures – far below the 500 going in daily before the war and far below what aid groups say is needed.

Almost the entire population of 2.3 million depends on the trucks coming across the border for their survival. 

One in four Palestinians in Gaza is starving, and the rest face crisis levels of hunger, according to the UN.

Blinken’s visit to the region comes as developments in Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq have put intense strains on what had been a modestly successful US push to prevent a regional conflagration.

From Jordan, Blinken will travel to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Sunday and Saudi Arabia on Monday. 

He will then visit Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday and Wednesday before wrapping up the trip in Egypt.