Arab envoys reject Blinken’s call for limited war pause in Gaza

Secretary of State Antony Blinken took U.S. calls for “humanitarian pauses” in the Israel-Hamas war to key Arab allies, who publicly insisted on an immediate cease-fire instead.

The rift played out on Blinken’s tour of the Middle East against the backdrop of a growing backlash against the death toll in Gaza as Israeli forces seek to eliminate Hamas as a threat after the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“It’s our view that a cease-fire now would simply leave Hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7,” Blinken told reporters in Amman, Jordan, on Saturday alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.

Shoukry said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza demands an immediate, unconditional halt in hostilities. Safadi said the immediate focus is on stopping the war, adding “we do not have all the variables to even start thinking about” a post-Hamas arrangement in Gaza.

When the time comes, Safadi said, “Gaza alone will not cut it.” He called for negotiations toward a two-state solution and work to improve the plight of Palestinians.

“I think we need to remind each other of our humanity,” Safadi said. “I think we need to accept that killing more people will not bring (back) those who were lost on both sides, as tragic as the loss is.”

Foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as the secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization were also part of Blinken’s meetings Saturday as Israeli ground forces in and around Gaza City battle Hamas, which the U.S. and the European Union have designated a terrorist group.

Earlier, Blinken visited the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, where he offered condolences for the deaths of UNRWA employees and praised the agency’s staff for “putting their lives on the line every single day to show up at work to help people.” The agency was established in 1949 to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

In a meeting with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Blinken “shared his deep concern about exchanges of fire along Lebanon’s southern border with Israel and stressed the importance of ensuring the Israel-Hamas conflict does not spread elsewhere,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Blinken, who met with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv on Friday, is set to continue his trip with a stop in Turkey, where he will hold talks on Monday. He’ll travel to Japan, South Korea and India after that.