Jordan’s king, top EU official discuss Israeli onslaught on Gaza

By Laith Al-Jnaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Jordan’s King Abdullah II and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held discussions Monday on Israel’s onslaught against Gaza.

King Abdullah met with Borrell in the capital Amman, according to a statement by the Jordanian Royal Court

It said the Jordanian monarch highlighted "the need to work intensively to stop the war on Gaza (and to) end the (Israeli) siege" imposed on the Palestinian enclave.

He also stressed the necessity "to ensure the delivery of food, medicine, water and fuel" for Palestinians in Gaza.

King Abdullah reiterated that the only way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the two-state solution.

The statement cited Borrell as stressing Jordan's important role towards creating a political horizon for the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution.

Borrell's visit to Amman is the fifth and last stop in his Middle East tour, which included visits to Israel, Palestine, Bahrain and Qatar.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Authorities in Gaza said Monday that the death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 has jumped to over 13,300.

In a statement, the Gaza-based government’s media office said the death toll includes 5,600 children and 3,550 women.

It added that it also includes 201 medical staff, 22 members of civil defense rescue teams and 60 journalists.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel’s relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar