Speaking at the White House, the two leaders warned against Israel’s indiscriminate invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are trapped.
“We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah. This will undoubtedly lead to another humanitarian catastrophe,” said the Jordanian monarch, who took the podium after Mr. Biden spoke first.
“We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire – this war must end,” added Abdullah, who has repeatedly called for a full ceasefire to end the conflict that began on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.
The US has angered some Middle East allies by repeatedly refusing calls for a full ceasefire, as Washington says it supports Israel’s bid to defeat Hamas, instead calling for shorter breaks and hostage deals.
But Mr Biden, who will seek re-election in November, has taken a tougher line on Israel over civilian casualties, saying last week that the Israeli attack was “exaggerated”.
“The United States is working on an Israel-Hamas hostage deal that would provide mediation and a lasting period of calm in Gaza for at least six weeks,” Mr. Biden said, adding that the key elements were in place but there were still “gaps.”
Then the warring countries could “take the time to build something more durable,” he said.
The United States said on Monday it was still seeking a deal to free Gaza hostages after a deadly Israeli strike freed two captives in crowded Rafah, and renewed warnings of a wider Israeli operation.
US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns is expected to arrive in Cairo on Tuesday for a new round of talks on a Qatar-brokered deal after Israel rejected Hamas’ initial ceasefire response last week, sources familiar with the situation said. .
There were a number of things that were really unacceptable in the proposal that Hamas made, but we believe that an agreement is possible and we will continue to pursue it,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“We believe that a break and an agreement on the hostages would be very beneficial, not only for the hostages who would be released, but also for the humanitarian effort in the Gaza Strip and our ability to begin to work toward a real and long-term, sustainable solution to this conflict,” he said.
Mr. Biden also said in Jordan that civilians taking refuge in Rafah, on the Egyptian border, “must be protected” as Israel considers invading the area.
It was the first face-to-face meeting between Mr Biden and Abdullah since the October 7 attack, with the US president hailing his fellow head of state as an important figure in the troubled Middle East.
Washington is the first stop on the Jordanian king’s tour, which will also see him visit Canada, France and Germany.
Gaza’s bloodiest war ever began after Hamas launched an unprecedented offensive in southern Israel that killed around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, the AFP news agency reported, citing official Israeli figures.
Israel responded with an unrelenting bombardment of the Gaza Strip and a ground offensive that killed at least 28,340 people, mostly women and children, according to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian Territory.
On Monday, Mr. Biden specifically mentioned that “more than 27 thousand” were killed. Palestinians,” apparently agreeing with Palestinian estimates, though he questioned them as recently as October, and said there were “too many” of the dead to count as children.
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2024-05-12 01:19:51