Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.
USA

Blinken seeks to contain Israel-Hamas war; meets with Middle East leaders in Jordan

Amman – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan on Saturday to meet with key Middle East leaders in an effort to contain escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. Blinken has been in the region since Friday, trying to find ways to ease the plight of the civilians caught in the fighting.

Blinken is scheduled to meet with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and members of the UN Relief and Works Agency on Saturday. Later in the afternoon, he will meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and regional partners, including Jordanian Foreign Minister Aymam Safadi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

JORDAN-ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-QATAR-CONFLICT-DIPLOMACY
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during a day of meetings, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in the Jordanian capital Amman on November 4, 2023.

JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images


Blinken started his trip on Friday with a stop in Israel. This is his third trip to Israel since the war broke out after Hamas’ bloody terror attacks on Oct. 7 left hundreds dead. He reiterated the United States’ support for Israel, saying that the country the right to defend itself. But he said a “humanitarian pause” was needed to boost aid deliveries to Palestinian civilians amid growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Fighting intensifies in Gaza City

The family home of Hamas’ exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh, in the Shati refugee camp on the northern edge of Gaza City, was hit Saturday morning by an airstrike, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza. It had no immediate details on damage or casualties and there was no immediate comment.

Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told The Associated Press that the house was being used by Haniyeh’s two sons.

The home is located in a narrow alley in the refugee camp, which has become a crowded neighborhood of Gaza City over the generations. Haniyeh, a former aide to Hamas’ founder, Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2004, has been in exile since 2019.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the city and across northern Gaza.

Israel says Hamas has extensive military infrastructure in the city, including a network of underground tunnels, bunkers and command centers. It says its strikes target Hamas, and the militants endanger civilians by operating among them.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN-CONFLICT
A picture taken from the southern Israeli border city of Sderot shows smoke rising above buildings in the Gaza Strip during an Israeli military operation on November 4, 2023, as battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants continue.

YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images


The city is now encircled by Israeli forces, who have been urging civilians to head south to avoid getting caught up in the fighting.

Despite those warnings, Israel has continued striking in the south, saying it is targeting Hamas members, but bombs are also killing entire families.

Raed Mattar, who was sheltering in a school in the southern town of Khan Younis after fleeing the north early in the war, said Saturday that he regularly heard explosions, apparently from airstrikes.

“People never sleep,” he said. “The sound of explosions never stops.”

“Gaza, a problem largely of Israel’s own making”

About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes, according to the U.N.The Israeli military said ground forces were also now operating in the south, with an armored and engineering corps working to remove booby traps from buildings.

Elsewhere, skirmishes along Israel’s northern border continued Saturday morning as the Israeli military said it had struck militant cells in Lebanon trying to fire at Israel, as well as a Hezbollah observation post.

Throughout the war, Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, have traded fire almost daily along the Lebanese border, raising fears of a new front opening there.

In addition to aid distribution, allowing foreigners out and the release of hostages, Blinken is looking to get Jordan and other Arab states to begin to think about the future of Gaza if and when Israel succeeds in wresting control from Hamas.

Arab leaders have thus far resisted American suggestions that they play a larger role in crisis, expressing outrage at the civilian toll of the Israeli military operations but believing Gaza to be a problem largely of Israel’s own making.

PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-CONFLICT
Huge plums of smoke rise on the horizon over the city of Khan Yunis as seen from the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 4, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. 

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images


More than 9,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including more than 3,600 Palestinian children, the Gaza Health Ministry said, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters.

More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack. Rocket fire by Gaza militants into Israel persists, disrupting life for millions of people and forcing an estimated 250,000 to evacuate. Most rockets are intercepted.

Twenty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation.

The overall toll is likely to rise dramatically as the assault on densely built-up Gaza City continues.

More than 386 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded exited Gaza into Egypt on Friday, according to Wael Abou Omar, the Hamas spokesperson for the Rafah border crossing. That brings the total who have gotten out since Wednesday to 1,115.

Summarize this content to 100 words Amman – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan on Saturday to meet with key Middle East leaders in an effort to contain escalation of the Israel-Hamas war. Blinken has been in the region since Friday, trying to find ways to ease the plight of the civilians caught in the fighting.Blinken is scheduled to meet with Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and members of the UN Relief and Works Agency on Saturday. Later in the afternoon, he will meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and regional partners, including Jordanian Foreign Minister Aymam Safadi and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during a day of meetings, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, in the Jordanian capital Amman on November 4, 2023.

JONATHAN ERNST/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken started his trip on Friday with a stop in Israel. This is his third trip to Israel since the war broke out after Hamas’ bloody terror attacks on Oct. 7 left hundreds dead. He reiterated the United States’ support for Israel, saying that the country the right to defend itself. But he said a “humanitarian pause” was needed to boost aid deliveries to Palestinian civilians amid growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Fighting intensifies in Gaza CityThe family home of Hamas’ exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh, in the Shati refugee camp on the northern edge of Gaza City, was hit Saturday morning by an airstrike, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza. It had no immediate details on damage or casualties and there was no immediate comment.Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad told The Associated Press that the house was being used by Haniyeh’s two sons.

The home is located in a narrow alley in the refugee camp, which has become a crowded neighborhood of Gaza City over the generations. Haniyeh, a former aide to Hamas’ founder, Ahmed Yassin, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2004, has been in exile since 2019.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in the city and across northern Gaza.Israel says Hamas has extensive military infrastructure in the city, including a network of underground tunnels, bunkers and command centers. It says its strikes target Hamas, and the militants endanger civilians by operating among them.

A picture taken from the southern Israeli border city of Sderot shows smoke rising above buildings in the Gaza Strip during an Israeli military operation on November 4, 2023, as battles between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants continue.

YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images

The city is now encircled by Israeli forces, who have been urging civilians to head south to avoid getting caught up in the fighting.

Despite those warnings, Israel has continued striking in the south, saying it is targeting Hamas members, but bombs are also killing entire families.Raed Mattar, who was sheltering in a school in the southern town of Khan Younis after fleeing the north early in the war, said Saturday that he regularly heard explosions, apparently from airstrikes.”People never sleep,” he said. “The sound of explosions never stops.””Gaza, a problem largely of Israel’s own making”About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70% of the population, have fled their homes, according to the U.N.The Israeli military said ground forces were also now operating in the south, with an armored and engineering corps working to remove booby traps from buildings.Elsewhere, skirmishes along Israel’s northern border continued Saturday morning as the Israeli military said it had struck militant cells in Lebanon trying to fire at Israel, as well as a Hezbollah observation post.Throughout the war, Israel and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, have traded fire almost daily along the Lebanese border, raising fears of a new front opening there.In addition to aid distribution, allowing foreigners out and the release of hostages, Blinken is looking to get Jordan and other Arab states to begin to think about the future of Gaza if and when Israel succeeds in wresting control from Hamas.

Arab leaders have thus far resisted American suggestions that they play a larger role in crisis, expressing outrage at the civilian toll of the Israeli military operations but believing Gaza to be a problem largely of Israel’s own making.

Huge plums of smoke rise on the horizon over the city of Khan Yunis as seen from the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 4, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. 

SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

More than 9,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, including more than 3,600 Palestinian children, the Gaza Health Ministry said, without providing a breakdown between civilians and fighters.More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack. Rocket fire by Gaza militants into Israel persists, disrupting life for millions of people and forcing an estimated 250,000 to evacuate. Most rockets are intercepted.Twenty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation.The overall toll is likely to rise dramatically as the assault on densely built-up Gaza City continues.More than 386 Palestinian dual nationals and wounded exited Gaza into Egypt on Friday, according to Wael Abou Omar, the Hamas spokesperson for the Rafah border crossing. That brings the total who have gotten out since Wednesday to 1,115.

Israel & Hamas At War

More

More

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/blinken-seeks-to-contain-israel-hamas-war-meets-with-middle-east-leaders-in-jordan/ Blinken seeks to contain Israel-Hamas war; meets with Middle East leaders in Jordan

Back to top button