Jordan will host international conference at venue in Dead Sea area
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Senior western and Arab officials will meet in Jordan on Tuesday to discuss the continuing war in Gaza at a large gathering supported by the US.
The meeting is designed to increase pressure on Israel as Washington renews months-long efforts for a prolonged ceasefire.
Eight months of talks have been largely unsuccessful, despite a week-long pause in fighting in November.
The “humanitarian summit” at a Dead Sea venue, a few kilometres from Israel, is aimed at enhancing “the response of the international community to the human disaster in Gaza”, Jordan said.
It is being held under the auspices of Egypt, Jordan and the UN. Egypt, a main player in ceasefire talks, is on guard over concerns the Israeli military will move deeper into the Rafah border area, driving Palestinian refugees into Egyptian territory.
Jordan has warned of a spillover from the war into the neighbouring occupied West Bank.
The kingdom has been acting as a base for western aid drops into Gaza, which has been of limited benefit, with the aerial aid volumes unable to plug daily shortages. Israel stands accused of massively restricting aid through land crossings.
In the past month, Egypt has also allegedly placed its own restrictions on aid convoys, after Israel ignored widespread calls to limit operations in Rafah.
Jordanian authorities have not revealed who is attending the conference but some diplomats whose presence is expected say Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently on a trip to the region, will represent the US at the gathering.
Mr Blinken is due to meet Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to advance ceasefire talks, which also involve Qatar.
“Blinken’s presence gives the conference heft but with Israel not attending, it means little,” one diplomat said.
Israel has been widely condemned for ignoring international humanitarian law in its invasion of Gaza, a densely populated territory controlled by Hamas, a militant group supported by Iran.
On October 7, Hamas and its militia allies attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 37,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza, Palestinian health officials say.
It is not known whether there will be any high-level representation from Russian and China, which have been at mostly odds with the US at the UN Security Council on a solution to the war.
European Council President Charles Michel will attend, together with the Spanish and Greek prime ministers, diplomats said.
Senior representatives of international aid organisations will be there, together with the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The two lenders will be involved for a “day after” component of the conference on reconstruction and possible change to the Hamas government of Gaza, the diplomats said.
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