Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has received US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah, the Saudi Press Agency said early Thursday, as the US diplomat makes his sixth tour of the region.
The meeting discussed “Developments in the Gaza Strip, and efforts made to stop military operations and deal with their security and humanitarian repercussions,” the SPA added.
The pair “reviewed bilateral relations and areas of joint cooperation, in addition to the latest regional and International developments.”
Blinken landed in Jeddah earlier on Wednesday on the first leg of a regional tour that was extended to include Israel.
Earlier, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Blinken discussed the “importance of an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
Speaking to Al-Hadath, Blinken said the US is “pressing for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages. That would bring immediate relief to so many people who are suffering in Gaza”.
The US has backed Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover in its five-month war in the enclave to extract hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. But Israel’s methods have drawn global outrage, prompting a genocide case against it at the International Court of Justice.
The visit comes amid strained ties between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Washington has become increasingly frustrated by its ally’s failure to curb civilian deaths or allow the delivery of vital aid.
Another major area of concern for the US has been the fate of Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip. Biden has put pressure on Netanyahu to pull back from a full-scale ground offensive on the tiny area, where up to 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering after being driven from their homes elsewhere.
“President Biden has been very clear – that we cannot support a major ground operation, military operation in Rafah,” Blinken said.
But Netanyahu told US senators on Wednesday that Israel will continue its operation to defeat Hamas.
Regional players as well as the US have been trying to get the two warring sides to agree to a truce that would include hostage swaps and an increase in aid to the enclave, but an agreement has been elusive.
Blinken said that he is “more than hopeful” that an agreement between Israel and Hamas is possible, and that it can be reached.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been called dire and an international report said on Tuesday that “famine is imminent”.
Source: Arab News
