Antony Blinken meets Arab leaders in fresh effort to stop conflict escalating
by Jason Burke in Jerusalem from World news | The Guardian on (#6G3YP)
US secretary of state meets officials from Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and UN as further civilian casualties reported in Gaza
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met senior Jordanian and other Arab officials in Amman on Saturday in the latest effort by Washington to avert a regional escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas, ease the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza and build support for planning a post-conflict future for the territory.
The trip was Blinken's second to the Middle East since the conflict began almost a month ago but came against the backdrop of further civilian casualties in Gaza and an apparent snub from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Continue reading...