Jordan, US foreign ministers discuss Gaza ceasefire options

Jordanian and US officials have acknowledged the huge shortfall in humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and called for a urgent increase in aid delivery to meet the needs of Palestinian civilians.

In a phone call on Wednesday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and allow aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Talks focused on developments in the negotiations to reach a prisoner exchange deal and a humanitarian truce that would lead to a ceasefire with US, Egyptian and Qatari mediation, Jordan News Agency reported.

The senior diplomats also covered the situation in Jerusalem, stressing the importance of preventing any escalation, particularly with the onset of Ramadan.

Safadi urged the removal of restrictions on religious freedoms, including unfettered access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and called for incursions into sacred sites to be halted.

In February, Jordan’s King Abdullah II appealed for a full ceasefire to end the war in Gaza after talks with US President Joe Biden in Washington. The US leader is seeking a shorter six-week pause to allow Israel time to defeat Hamas.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday urged Hamas to agree to an immediate six-week ceasefire, while urging Israel to do more to boost aid deliveries into Gaza, where innocent people are suffering a “humanitarian catastrophe.”

In some of the strongest comments by a senior leader of the US government on the issue, Harris pressed the Israeli government and outlined specific ways to allow more aid to flow into the densely populated enclave where hundreds of thousands of people are facing acute food shortages in the wake of Israel’s five-month military campaign.