Arab world, US split on Gaza ceasefire as Israeli offensive presses on
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Simon Lewis, Suleiman and Al-Khalidi
GAZA/AMMAN (Reuters) — The United States and its Arab allies appeared divided over Israel's military offensive in Gaza to defeat Hamas, as Washington, alongside Israel, resisted pressure for an immediate ceasefire despite the rising death toll among Palestinian civilians.
In a rare display of a public split, Arab foreign ministers at a press conference pushed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to persuade Israel to agree to a ceasefire. The top U.S. diplomat, however, dismissed the idea, saying such a halt would only benefit Hamas, allowing the militant Islamist Palestinian group to regroup and attack again.
Blinken is set on Sunday to resume his Middle East trip, his second to the region since the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict reignited on Oct. 7 when fighters from Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, burst over the border into Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking more than 240 others hostage.
Israel has since struck Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground assault, stirring global alarm at humanitarian conditions in the enclave and, Gaza health officials said on Saturday, killing more than 9,488 Palestinians.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said 51 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and scores wounded in an Israeli bombardment of Gaza's Maghazi refugee camp on Saturday night. Reuters could not independently verify the WAFA report.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The growing number of civilian deaths has intensified international calls for a ceasefire, but Washington, like Israel, has so far dismissed them, even though it has sought to persuade Israeli Prime Minister
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