Jordan cancels Biden’s trip to Amman after Gaza hospital attack: Foreign Minister
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed Moscow’s support for the Palestinians’ right to freedom
Iran’s Khamenei: If Israel continues its crimes, no one can stop ‘resistance forces’
GAZA + TEHRAN + Amman
Amman’s top diplomat said Tuesday that the four-way summit between US President Joe Biden and the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and Palestine had been scrapped after the reported Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital, which killed hundreds of Palestinians and led Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to return to Ramallah.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip has left at least 500 people dead.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the meeting had been canceled, as had Biden’s visit to Amman. But Biden’s trip to Israel was still on as of Tuesday evening, according to the White House. Safadi was quoted as telling Al Jazeera that there was no use in talking “now about anything except stopping the war.”
The White House said Biden consulted with King Abdullah II of Jordan and decided to postpone his trip “in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.”
Biden sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the “hospital explosion” in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.
The US president agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with the leaders he was supposed to meet in Amman.
Palestine blamed the Israeli army, while Israel claimed Palestinian militants were responsible for a failed rocket attack.
The White House said Biden would make the trip to show support for Israel during meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden is also expected to discuss Israel’s military plans for Gaza in the aftermath of last weekend’s Hamas attack on Israel.
Al Arabiya English has reached out to the White House to inquire about any potential changes to Biden’s travel.
Earlier announced that Jordan on Wednesday will host a four-party summit in Amman with US President Joe Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to discuss the “dangerous” repercussions of the war in Gaza for the region, state media said.
The discussions would focus on ways to halt “the ongoing war in Gaza and ways to find a political horizon that would allow the revival of the peace process,” an official statement said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah will also separately hold a tripartite summit with both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The monarch on Tuesday warned against trying to push Palestinian refugees into Egypt or Jordan, adding that the humanitarian situation must be dealt with inside Gaza and the West Bank.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed Moscow’s support for the Palestinians’ right to freedom and statehood in a call with President Mahmoud Abbas, the official WAFA news agency reported on Monday.
Putin reportedly emphasized the importance of a ceasefire deal and allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to prevent the displacement of thousands of Palestinians from the area.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leader reiterated the need to stop attacks and targeting of civilians and create safe corridors to allow entry of medical and food supplies and provide water and electricity to the people of Gaza.
According to WAFA, Abbas stressed preventing the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, adding that the act is considered a second ‘nakba’ or catastrophe for the Palestinian people – similar to the one in 1948.
The Palestinian president condemned the killing of civilians on both sides, adding that the captured civilians must be released immediately.
WAFA further reported that Abbas’ strategy is to achieve peace and security by implementing the two-state solution based on international resolutions, recognition of the state of Palestine through political and legal means, and rejection of violence on both sides.
Authorities in Gaza say at least 2,837 people have been killed in Israeli strikes so far, with a quarter of them being children – and nearly 10,000 have been wounded. A further 1,000 are missing and believed to be under the rubble.
More than 1,300 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants, one of the deadliest attacks in the state’s 75-year history.
Iran’s Khamenei: If Israel continues its crimes, no one can stop ‘resistance forces’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that no one can stop Muslims and the “resistance forces” if Israel continued to commit “crimes” in Gaza.
“If the crimes of the Zionist regime continue, no one can stop the Muslims and the resistance forces,” Khamenei said as cited by state news agency IRNA.
Iran refers to a group of various proxy militias it backs across the region, like Hezbollah in Lebanon and militias in Iraq and Syria, as being part of the “resistance axis.”
Khamenei called for the Israeli bombardment of Gaza to immediately stop.
This comes a day after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that “preemptive action” against Israel was possible within hours.
Amirabdollahian said: “All possible options and scenarios are there for Hezbollah. Everything has been considered correctly in their calculations and resistance leaders will not allow [Israel] to take any action in the region. Any preemptive measure is possible in the coming hours,” as cited by IRNA.
He stressed that while a chance will be given for a political resolution of the conflict, “any action is possible” in case Israel continued its “war crimes” against Palestinian civilians.
Amirabdollahian added: “The resistance front has the capability of ‘long-term wars with the enemy,’ and that the expansion of the ongoing conflict will change the map of [Israel].”
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem said last week that international and regional calls for the group to stay out of the Hamas-Israel conflict will not be heeded.
“The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect,” Qassem said as cited by Hezbollah TV Al Manar. “Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and ready, fully ready.”
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned Hezbollah of a “deadly” response if it continued to carry out attacks against Israel.
On Sunday, the IDF said it was “isolating” the area of up to four kilometers from the border with Lebanon, banning civilians from entry to the area. This comes amid the exchange of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah. The Iran-backed militia had launched three attacks on Israeli border regions resulting in the death of one person and the injury of three others.