Blinken seeks Arab pressure on Hamas as Israel readies Gaza move
Blinken on Friday began a tour of Arab capitals as he seeks to build pressure on Hamas while Israel readies a likely massive offensive on the Gaza Strip following the militants' attacks.
The top US diplomat will meet Jordan's King Abdullah II, a longtime US partner, and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Amman and will then visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Blinken spent Thursday in Tel Aviv where he promised unwavering solidarity to US ally Israel after the surprise October 7 offensive by Hamas, who killed over 1,200 people and took about 150 more hostage.
The United States has publicly blessed reprisals by Israel, which on Friday called for the immediate relocation of 1.1 million people in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which is already under an Israeli blockade.
Israel has killed more than 1,400 people in strikes in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack and has cut off food, water and electricity.
Qatar, where Blinken will head immediately after Jordan, has longstanding ties with Hamas and has been seen as an intermediary in freeing the hostages.
«We'll continue pressing countries to help prevent the conflict from spreading, and to use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages,» Blinken said late Thursday in Tel Aviv.
«We'll also discuss how we can continue to make real our affirmative vision for a region that's more peaceful, more prosperous, more secure, more integrated.
»In fact, that is the choice, and the choice in some ways has been made even more stark by the actions of Hamas."
Saudi Arabia in the weeks before the attacks had spoken of progress in US-led diplomacy to normalise relations with Israel — a landmark step for the
