Arab leaders publicly and privately appealed to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Saturday to intervene in Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip. This puts added pressure on the Biden administration to convince Israel to reduce civilian casualties and allow more humanitarian aid.
The increase in civilian deaths has sparked anger in the region and beyond. The United Nations condemned Israel’s bombing of a convoy of ambulances, stating that “nowhere is safe” in the territory.
During a news conference in Amman, Jordan, the foreign minister of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, bluntly told Mr. Blinken, “Stop this madness.” The Egyptian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, called for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza without conditions.
U.S. officials revealed that Arab leaders had conveyed similar messages to Mr. Blinken in private, expressing concerns that the growing public outrage over Israel’s actions could destabilize their own countries. They emphasized that they could no longer handle domestic pressure regarding the high Palestinian death toll and needed the United States to take action.
These messages from Arab leaders on Saturday contrasted with what some of them had privately conveyed to their American counterparts earlier in the conflict, where they expressed openness to an aggressive Israeli campaign against Hamas, according to U.S. officials.
In response to calls for an immediate cease-fire from Arab leaders, Mr. Blinken reiterated the United States’ position, stating that Israel had the right to defend itself but needed to minimize civilian casualties.
Mr. Blinken said, “It’s our view that a cease-fire now would simply leave Hamas in place and able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7. No nation – none of us – can accept that.”
It remains unclear how the concerns expressed by Arab leaders will impact the Biden administration’s decision-making process.
Mr. Blinken, who is currently on a tour of the Middle East, has been leading diplomatic efforts to persuade Israel to allow the entry of assistance for Gaza civilians who are trapped and desperate after almost a month of war. He has also been the main advocate within the Biden administration for urging Israel to agree to pauses in the fighting to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the safe departure of foreign nationals from the enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea, stating that any pauses should be dependent on the release of all more than 240 Israeli hostages held by Hamas. However, U.S. officials said discussions were ongoing and expressed hope that Israel would reverse its decision.
When asked about the progress of achieving a humanitarian pause in Gaza, President Biden responded, “Yes,” after leaving Mass on Saturday in Rehoboth Beach, Del. He offered a thumbs up but provided no further details.
In a statement on Saturday night, a spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing claimed that the bodies of 23 hostages were missing under the rubble in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes. This claim could not be independently verified. Israeli officials have dismissed such statements as “psychological warfare,” alleging that Hamas is attempting to manipulate Israeli public opinion by instilling fear for the fate of the hostages held in Gaza, even as the battle in the enclave continues.