President Joe Biden will host Jordanian King Abdullah II in Washington on Monday, and the two leaders are expected to discuss ongoing efforts to free those detained by Hamas in Gaza, and growing concern about a possible Israeli military operation in the coastal city of Rafah.
This is the first meeting between the two leaders since the killing of 3 American soldiers last month in a drone strike on an American base in Jordan, and Biden blamed Iranian-backed militias for the deaths, which is the first of its kind for the United States after months of strikes launched by these groups against… US forces have been stationed throughout the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The meeting with King Abdullah II comes at a time when Biden and his aides are working to mediate another halt to the Israeli war against Hamas in order to send aid and humanitarian supplies to the Strip and extract the hostages.
The White House is facing increasing criticism from Arab Americans over the administration’s continued support for Israel in the face of increasing losses in Gaza, according to what the Associated Press reported.
An agreement on another cessation of fighting appears to be approaching, as a senior US administration official said on Sunday that after weeks of shuttle diplomacy and phone talks, a basic framework had been put in place to reach an agreement that could see the release of detainees held by Hamas in exchange for a halt to the fighting.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the existence of gaps but declined to specify what they were.
The official said that Israeli military pressure on Hamas in Khan Yunis over the past few weeks helped bring the armed group closer to accepting the agreement.
Biden’s call on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the possibility of reaching an agreement.
The official said the two leaders also had a major debate over the potential expansion of Israeli military operations in Rafah, and that Biden reiterated US opposition to the idea under “current circumstances” while more than 1.3 million people live there.
This was the strongest tone yet from the president regarding the potential operation.
Biden, who last week described Israel’s military response in Gaza as “exaggerated,” sought “urgent and specific” steps to boost humanitarian aid. Israeli TV Channel 13 said the conversation lasted 45 minutes.
The official stated that the Israelis “made clear that they would not consider an operation” in Rafah without protecting the civilian population. The official said the United States was not sure there was a feasible or implementable plan to move civilians out of Rafah to allow military operations.
#Bilad #newspaper #Biden #receives #Jordanian #King #Washington #today
