Blinken On A Mission To Halt Possible Spread Of Gaza War

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has met Arab partners during another urgent diplomatic mission to the Middle East to press for their help over resurgent fears that Israel’s threemonth war with Hamas in Gaza could spread.

- MATTHEW LEE

In discussions with Qatar’s emir and Jordan’s king, Mr Blinken spoke of the need for Israel to adjust its military operations to reduce civilian casualties and significantly boost the amount of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza, while stressing the importance of preparing detailed plans for the post-conflict future of the Palestinian territory, which has been decimated by Israeli bombardments.

The mission – that will also take him to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank and Egypt before he returns to Washington – is Mr Blinken’s fourth to the region since the war began. After a day of talks with Turkish and Greek leaders in Istanbul and Crete, Mr Blinken met Jordan’s King Abdullah II and foreign minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, before travelling to Doha for talks with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to seek buy-in for US efforts over fears that the war could engulf the region, to ramp up aid to Gaza and prepare for an eventual end of hostilities.

King Abdullah “warned of the catastrophic repercussions” of the war in Gaza while calling on the US to press for an immediate ceasefire, a statement from the Royal Court said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Mr Blinken and the monarch agreed to continue close coordination on getting sustained humanitarian assistance to Gaza.