Jordanian king to host Egyptian, Palestinian leaders for Gaza talks

Meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Aqaba will focus on coordinating Arab positions, push for an immediate ceasefire, and seek to ensure delivery of humanitarian aid

Jordan’s King Abdullah II will host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday for talks on “dangerous developments” in war-torn Gaza, the royal palace said.

The meeting will be held in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba as part of “Jordan’s efforts to coordinate Arab positions to push for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid,” a statement said.

Their talks would also focus on “the situation in the West Bank,” which has been under Israeli control since 1967.

King Abdullah, in a meeting Sunday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, called on the United States to press Israel for an “immediate ceasefire” and to put an end to the humanitarian crisis brought by the Gaza war.

Aid organizations have warned of the dire situation in the Palestinian territory, where war erupted when Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that killed at least 1,200 people, mostly civilians, slaughtered amid brutal atrocities. The thousands of terrorists who invaded the country also abducted at least 240 other people of all ages, who were taken as hostages into Gaza.

Israel has responded with a military campaign, including a ground incursion, to destroy Hamas, remove it from power in Gaza, and release the hostages.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II (center right) receiving US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (second from left) in Amman on January 7, 2024 in this handout photo. (Jordanian Royal Palace / AFP)

On Sunday, King Abdullah also warned Blinken against “the catastrophic repercussions of continuation of the aggression against Gaza, underlining the necessity of ending the tragic humanitarian crisis” there, the palace said.

In Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Blinken met with Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At a press conference, Blinken stressed: “We continue to stand with Israel to ensure that October 7 can never happen again.”

But, the “daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high,” he said.

He also called on Israel to “stop taking steps that undercut Palestinians’ ability to govern themselves effectively.”

Blinken is on a tour aimed at ending the possible spillover of the Israel-Hamas war into the region and preventing what he called an “endless cycle of violence.”