November 5, 2023
Blinken fends off pressure from Arab states for immediate Gaza ceasefire
AMAN: Arab leaders on Saturday called for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, pressing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to persuade Israel, but the top US diplomat said such a pause at this time would only allow the Palestinian Hamas organization to regroup and attack Israel again. In a rare public spat at a news conference in Amman, the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt, alongside Blinken, repeatedly pressed for an end to hostilities, saying the deaths of thousands of civilians could not be justified as self-defense. They also declined to discuss in depth what’s next


