Jordan to host Gaza summit with Egyptian, Palestinian leaders
A handout picture released by the Jordanian Royal Palace shows Jordan's King Abdullah II (L) walking alongside Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Dec. 27, 2023. (Photo by Jordanian Royal Palace via AFP)


Jordanian King Abdullah II will host a summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday to discuss ongoing developments in Gaza, amid Israel's incessant attacks, which killed over 23,000 people, mostly women and children.

A statement by Jordan's Royal Court said the king would hold the trilateral summit "to discuss the dangerous developments in Gaza and the situation in the West Bank."

The summit comes as part of efforts "to coordinate Arab positions to push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid," the statement said.

Wednesday's summit comes amid a regional tour by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to seek to prevent an expansion of the conflict in the region.

Israel has pounded the Palestinian enclave since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 23,210 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 59,167 others, according to local health authorities.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas offensive.

About 85% of Gazans have been displaced, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and ⁠less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.

King Abdullah said on Monday that "indiscriminate aggression" and shelling could never bring peace or security.

In remarks at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda, he said: "More children have died in Gaza than in all other conflicts around the world this past year. Of those who have survived, many have lost one or both parents, an entire generation of orphans."

Nearly all of Gaza's residents have been forced to flee their homes at least once and many remain on the move, often sheltering in makeshift tents or under tarpaulins due to Israel's relentless attacks.

King Abdullah, whose country maintains diplomatic links with Israel, previously voiced "unequivocal rejection" of the forced displacement of Palestinians.

"This is a war crime according to international law, and a red line for all of us," he said.

The monarch also called for an "immediate end to the war on Gaza," protection of civilians, and adoption of a "unified position that indiscriminately condemns targeting of civilians."