Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (R) reacts as he meets United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken (unseen), in London, on October 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Jordan’s foreign minister on Friday (October 25, 2024) called for pressure on Israel to end “ethnic cleansing”, in strong remarks as he met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in London.

Deploring the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, Ayman Safadi told Blinken: “We do see ethnic cleansing taking place, and that has got to stop.”

He added: “We really stand at the brink of regional war now. The only path to save the region from that is for Israel to stop the aggressions on Gaza, on Lebanon, stop unilateral measures, illegal measures, in the West Bank, that is also pushing the situation to an abyss.”

Jordan was the second Arab country to make peace with Israel. Mr. Blinken saluted the kingdom for its “remarkable leadership role”, especially in working to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Total death toll crosses forty thousand in Palestine
| Photo Credit: AP

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Sunday (August 18, 2024) that at least 40,099 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory in more than 10 months of war with Israel.

The toll includes 25 deaths over the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures, which also listed 92,609 people as wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7.

Meanwhile, United States secretary of state Anthony Blinken will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for a Gaza cease-fire deal. Hamas has rejected Israel’s demands for a lasting military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border and a line bisecting Gaza where Israeli forces would search Palestinians returning to their homes. Israel says both are needed to prevent militants from rearming and returning to the north.