Arab leaders push for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire; Blinken says counterproductive

Arab leaders decrying the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the IsraelHamas war pushed for an immediate ceasefire Saturday even as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that such a move would be counterproductive and could encourage more violence by the militant groupAfter an afternoon of talks with Egyptian Jordanian Saudi Qatari and Emirati diplomats and a senior Palestinian official Blinken stood side by side at a line of podiums with his counterparts from Jordan and Egypt to discuss what he said was their shared desire to protect civilians in Gaza and improve aid flows to the besieged territoryThe dissonance in the messages was evident Nonetheless the joint news conference between ministers from the Arab world and the top diplomat from Israels closest ally and numerous photo opportunities contrasted with Blinkens time in Tel Aviv on Friday when Blinken met alone with reporters after closeddoor talks with Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuThe Arab ministers repeatedly called for the fighting to stop now and condemned Israels war tactics We cannot accept the justification as considered as the right of selfdefense collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza Egypts Sameh Shoukry said This cannot be a legitimate selfdefence at allBlinken held firm to the US position that a ceasefire would harm Israels right and obligation to defend its citizens after the surprise attack by Hamas on Oct 7 across southern Israel He said the Biden administrations commitment to Israels right to selfdefence remains unwavering It is our view now that a ceasefire would simply leave Hamas in place able to regroup and repeat what it did Blinken saidHe said the US supports humanitarian pauses in Israels operations to allow for improved aid flows an appeal Netanyahu pointedly rejected the day before and increased transit of foreign nationals out of Gaza and into Egypt Blinkens colleagues from Jordan and Egypt did not think that went far enoughPresident Joe Biden in a brief exchange with reporters as he left St Edmond Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach Delaware on Saturday suggested there has been some forward movement in the US efforts to persuade Israel to agree to a humanitarian pause Asked if there was progress he responded YesIn another direct contrast Arab officials said it was far too soon to discuss one of Blinkens main agenda items Gazas postwar future Stopping the killing and restoring steady humanitarian aid are immediate that must be addressed first they saidWhat happens next How can we even entertain what will happen next said Jordans Ayman alSafadi We dont have all the variables to even start thinking about that He added We need to get our priorities straightBut as they appeared before news cameras and reporters the three men lent at least an appearance of solidarity Blinken acknowledged Arab concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza and underscored the risk that the war poses to Israels standing in neighbouring countries with whom it has had diplomatic relations for decadesShoukry and alSafadi said they agreed to keep working with Blinken and others toward the ultimate goal of ending the war restoring some sense of normalcy to Gaza and giving the Palestinian people reason to hope for an eventual independent state of their ownFrom Beirut senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told reporters that Blinken should stop the aggression and should not come up with ideas that cannot be implemented Hamdan said the future of Gaza will be decided by the Palestinians and that Arab foreign ministers should tell the American diplomat that he cannot build an Arab coalition that is against the Palestinian peopleBlinkens first meeting in Jordan was with Lebanons caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati whose economically and politically ravaged country is home to Hezbollah an Iranianbacked force that is hostile to Israel The United States has grave concerns that Hezbollah which has stepped up rocket and crossborder attacks on northern Israel will take a more active role in the IsraelHamas warHezbollahs chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday gave his first major speech since the Hamas attacks but did not forecast his groups greater involvement even as he professed that Hezbollah was unperturbed by US attempts to deter it Blinken thanked Mikati for his leadership in preventing Lebanon from being pulled into a war that the Lebanese people do not want the US State Department saidBlinken then met with the foreign minister of Qatar whose country has emerged as the most influential interlocutor with Hamas Qatar has been key to negotiating the limited release of hostages held by Hamas as well as persuading Hamas to allow foreign citizens to leave Gaza and cross into EgyptBlinken also held talks with the head of the UN agency in charge of assisting Palestinian refugees thanking Phillipe Lazzarini for his groups extraordinary work every single day as a lifeline to Palestinians in Gaza and a great a great cost The agency has seen about 70 staffers killed in the war so far and is running critically low on necessary supplies such as food medicine and fuelThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever