Blinken discusses Gaza cease-fire, humanitarian aid on Jordan visit

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – The top diplomats of Jordan and the United States held talks on Tuesday to discuss efforts to reach a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Amman early Tuesday on the second leg of a regional tour aimed at exploring ways to reach a cease-fire deal in the Palestinian enclave.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Blinken discussed efforts to de-escalate in the region and prevent any Israeli offensive in Rafah, home to more than 1.4 million Palestinians in the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

They also reviewed the "dangerous deterioration and escalation" in the West Bank and the need to start a comprehensive plan to end the Israeli occupation and achieve a just peace under the two-state solution, it added.

Blinken, for his part, said he discussed with Safadi the US commitment to advancing peace and stability in the region and addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“We appreciate Jordan's coordination to get more aid into Gaza through airdrops and overland deliveries,” he added on X.

Blinken visited Saudi Arabia on Monday on the first top of his tour and he is expected to visit Israel after Jordan.

On Monday, Blinken told the World Economic Forum in Riyadh that Israel gave Hamas a "generous" offer to release the Israeli captives, which could potentially lead to a cease-fire in Gaza.

The new offer includes Israel’s willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after an initial release of hostages on humanitarian grounds, two Israeli officials told Axios news website.

Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the truce proposal later this week.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, which Tel Aviv says killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 34,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and thousands of others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

More than six months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.