Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrived in Jordan on Tuesday for the second stop on his Middle East tour, meeting with senior officials to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas that has roiled the political landscape in the region and in the United States.
The Biden administration is seeking to increase pressure on Hamas to accept a deal that would lead to a temporary ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza and the release of some hostages held there.
Blinken discussed the draft agreement in Saudi Arabia on Monday and again in Jordan on Tuesday. He was scheduled to do the same in Israel on Wednesday, State Department officials said. In Jordan, in the early afternoon, Mr. Blinken met separately with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and King Abdullah II.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken and Jordan's king discussed a proposed ceasefire and Jordan's humanitarian aid contributions to Gaza.
Blinken and his aides, on his seventh trip to the Middle East since the war began last October, spoke about Israel's continued need for American weapons, the dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the humanitarian crisis and a political solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Late Tuesday, Blinken met with U.N. Gaza coordinator Sigrid Kaag to discuss the need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
“This is a critical moment to make sure that everything that needs to be done is actually being done,” Blinken said at the beginning of the meeting.
Blinken was also expected to address issues surrounding the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the Israeli-occupied West Bank, during his talks with Jordanian officials.
The Biden administration has called for the creation of a more technocratic Palestinian Authority, which many Palestinians consider authoritarian and corrupt, and hopes it will help govern Gaza in the post-war period. The Israeli government opposes the idea. Jordanian officials have close ties to the agency's top official, Mahmoud Abbas, and other prominent Palestinians within the organization.