Jordanian foreign minister renews calls for halt to ongoing war on Gaza

By Laith Al-jnaidi

AMMAN, Joran (AA) – Jordan’s top diplomat on Sunday reiterated his demand for an immediate halt to the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi’s call came during his meeting in the capital Amman with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on the third stop of a tour he began in Turkiye, according to the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.

In a statement, the ministry said that during extensive talks on the situation in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe there, Safadi stressed “the need to immediately stop the aggression, protect civilians, and ensure adequate and sustainable access of humanitarian and medical aid to all areas of Gaza.”

The discussions also addressed “the need to stop the illegal Israeli measures in West Bank and Jerusalem,” as well as numerous bilateral and regional issues.

On Saturday, ahead of Blinken’s visit, the ministry said Safadi would “reaffirm the firm Jordanian position in rejecting the displacement of Palestinians inside or outside their land … and rejecting any future approach to dealing with Gaza from a security standpoint and outside the context of a complete and comprehensive plan based on the unity of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem."

Blinken is on an official visit through Jan. 11 that includes Türkiye, Greece, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt, according to the State Department.

Blinken's tour comes at a time when the Israeli army has waged, since Oct. 7, a devastating war on Gaza that has resulted in the killing of 22,722 Palestinians and the injury of 58,166 others.

Since the beginning of the war, Washington has provided Tel Aviv with the strongest possible military, intelligence, and diplomatic support, to the point that critics have accused the US of being an accomplice in what they call “Israeli war crimes” in Gaza.

Israeli authorities claimed that the Hamas attacks have killed around 1,200 Israelis.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi