9:48 am ET, November 4, 2023
Arab foreign ministers to call for “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza during meeting with Blinken, Jordan says
From CNN’s Caroline Faraj in Dubai and Zeena Saifee in Jerusalem
Arab foreign ministers are set to “call for an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza during a summit in Amman on Saturday, Jordan’s foreign ministry said in a post on social media.
During the summit, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is scheduled to meet with several Arab foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Gaza.
During the meeting, the ministers will “affirm the Arab position calling for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the Jordanian ministry said.
The ministry said the meeting would discuss “all ways to end this dangerous degradation that threatens the security of the entire region”.
Blinken also met separately with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman ahead of the joint meeting.
Some context: The foreign ministers of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar, as well as the secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee, are also scheduled to meet with Blingen, according to a statement from Jordan’s foreign ministry.
On Saturday morning, Blinken met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikadi to discuss weeks of tensions between Iran-backed Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah and Israel along the Israel-Lebanon border, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
