AMMAN: The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday met Jordan’s king and visited a World Food Programme warehouse in Amman as he pressed ahead with an urgent West Asia diplomatic mission to prevent Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza from spreading.
On his fourth visit to the region 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 Gaza while highlighting the importance of preparing detailed plans for the post-conflict future of the 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 Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi seeking buy-in for US efforts to tamp down fears that the three-month-old war could engulf the region, ramp up aid deliveries to Gaza and prepare for the eventual end of hostilities.
Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of Israel’s actions and have eschewed public support for long-term planning, arguing that the fighting must end before such discussions can begin.