UPDATE - Jordan's king meets with Blinken, calls for cease-fire in Gaza

ADDS US STATE DEPARTMENT READOUT OF MEETING

By Laith Al Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) - Jordan’s King Abdullah II affirmed the necessity of ending Israel’s war on Gaza and protecting civilians during a visit to the US on Tuesday.

''The international community, especially influential countries, must play their role in preventing an escalation of the conflict in the region,'' King Abdullah said during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital, Washington, D.C., according to a statement by the royal court.

He reiterated Jordan's ''full rejection of any attempts (by Israel) to displace Palestinians from their land, reoccupy parts of Gaza, or to establish buffer zones therein,'' the statement added.

The king also warned of "the repercussions of an Israeli attack on (the city of) Rafah, which houses 1.5 million people.''

The king kicked off a tour of the US, Canada, France and Germany to rally support for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken thanked King Abdullah for Jordan’s continued efforts to bring critical humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza and they discussed ways to expedite the flow of additional aid to Gaza from Jordan, according to a readout from the US State Department.

''Secretary Blinken and King Abdullah continued discussions about achieving an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and Secretary Blinken underscored the U.S. commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel,'' the statement said.

''As the (Muslim) holy month of Ramadan approaches, Secretary Blinken also underlined the need to preserve the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and recognized the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan’s special role in the Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem,'' it added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

At least 28,473 Palestinians have since been killed and 68,146 others injured, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, which in an interim ruling in January ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio