US supports 'humanitarian pauses' in Gaza war: Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday reaffirmed US support for "humanitarian pauses" in fighting between Israel and Hamas to ensure people in the besieged Gaza Strip get help. Speaking at a news conference in Amman about sparing civilians and speeding up aid deliveries, Blinken said: "The United States believes that all of these efforts will be facilitated by humanitarian pauses. "We believe humanitarian pauses can be critical mechanisms to protect civilians, to getting aid in, to getting foreign nationals out while still enabling Israel to achieve its objectives to defeat Hamas." Such pauses were a key focus of Blinken's talks in Israel on Friday, but the proposal drew short shrift from hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu said he would not agree to a "temporary truce" with Hamas until the Islamist group releases more than 240 Israeli and foreign hostages it abducted during its October 7 attacks. Speaking at the same news conference, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said: "We cannot allow this war to undermine all that has been done to bring about a just peace to the region." Safadi called for all sides to work together to "stop a catastrophe that will haunt the region for generations." During a later meeting with Blinken, Jordan's King Abdullah II "stressed the need to stop the war on Gaza and to impose a humanitarian truce to sustain aid delivery to the Gaza Strip," a royal court statement said. He said: "The only way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is to work towards a political horizon to achieve a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution," with a Palestinian state coexisting alongside Israel. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, whose country has been acting as the sole conduit for foreigners to escape Gaza and for aid to get in, called for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. "Egypt is doing its utmost to ensure the reception of aid and its delivery to the Gaza Strip, as well as providing assistance for the treatment of civilian casualties," Shoukry told the joint news conference. "In this context, I emphasised the importance of achieving an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza without any conditions or restrictions." (AFP)