Jordan's King Heads to Europe to Garner Support to End Gaza Conflict

FILE PHOTO: Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, September 19, 2023.  REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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Jordan's King Heads to Europe to Garner Support to End Gaza Conflict

FILE PHOTO: Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, September 19, 2023.  REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Jordan's King Abdullah II addresses the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York City, US, September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Jordan's King Abdullah leaves on Saturday for a European tour to garner support from the region's leaders for an end to the Israeli "war on Gaza", Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told state media.

The monarch, who met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, has had intensive contacts with leaders in the region and in the West to de-escalate the violence and prevent the region being dragged into a wider war, officials say.

Jordan on Saturday said any move by Israel to impose a new displacement of Palestinians would push the region to the "abyss" of a wider regional conflict.

Safadi also said Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid to Gaza and forcing its residents to leave their homes as it escalates its military action were a "flagrant" breach of international law.

Israel had given the entire population of the north of the Gaza Strip a Saturday morning deadline to move south ahead of an expected ground offensive to root out Hamas militants. It has said it will keep two roads open until 4:00 pm. to allow people to escape.

Safadi said the military campaign against Hamas was killing innocent civilians and would bring despair and destruction in its wake that would not bring security to Israel.

"The war is killing and displacing innocent Palestinians and will leave the region and the world facing the repercussion of an environment of destruction and despair that Israel will create in Gaza," Safadi said in comments after meeting his Canadian counterpart.

"It won't achieve security or lead to peace," Safadi said, in the toughest language from Jordan since the conflict that broke out after a devastating cross-border attack by Hamas a week ago.

Israel's push to move the entire population to leave their homes was a "red line" that Arabs would confront, Safadi said.

"This will bring the region into the hell of war. We have to end this madness," he added.



Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Berri: Bloodshed in South Lebanon is ‘Urgent Call’ to Compel Israel to Withdraw

26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
26 January 2025, Lebanon, Kfarkila: A Lebanese soldier opens the road to an ambulance carrying a wounded Lebanese shot by Israeli army as he tried to enter into his southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said that Sunday's bloodshed in southern Lebanon “is a clear and urgent call for the international community to act immediately.”

Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported.
The dead included six women and a Lebanese army soldier, the Health Ministry said in a statement. People were reported wounded in nearly 20 villages in the border area.

In remarks carried by the Lebanese media, Berri also said that the international community should “compel Israel to withdraw from occupied Lebanese territories.”

Berri, whose Amal Movement party is allied with Hezbollah, served as an interlocutor between the militant group and the US during ceasefire negotiations.