Arab nations intensifying appeals to US for Gaza ceasefire: NYT
The New York Times says Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt have appealed to US officials to persuade "Israel" to end its aggression on Gaza.
The New York Times reported that "facing growing anger from their own people, Arab countries are intensifying their appeals to the United States to pressure Israel to implement an immediate cease-fire in Gaza or risk sabotaging the security of the entire Middle East."
The newspaper mentioned that Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt have appealed to US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to persuade "Israel" to end its aggression on Gaza
Blinken has declined worldwide requests for a cease-fire, arguing that doing so "would simply leave Hamas in place and able to regroup and repeat what it did on Oct. 7," in reference to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Instead, he has advocated for "humanitarian pauses" in the Israeli aggression -- a proposal that has "fallen flat in Arab nations, where many view it as a weak proposal that shows the U.S. is either unwilling or unable to hold Israel back."
The report noted that "even officials in the United Arab Emirates — which led a push for Arab countries to build ties with Israel in 2020 — have condemned Israel’s conduct in the war."
It highlighted that "one month into the war, the predominant emotions in the Middle East are despair and rage, which have pushed tens of thousands of people to join protests denouncing Israel across the region."
The New York Times also cited Bahrain as an example, where Bahrainis have taken to the streets several times in solidarity with Gaza. In addition, the country's Parliament also issued an unusual statement last week announcing the summoning of the Bahraini ambassador to "Israel".
In a related context, Consortium News considered that the Biden administration has "tons of leverage it can use to stop the genocidal massacre in Gaza, it just doesn’t want to because it would be "politically unpopular"", in addition to the US President's "personal attachment to Israel."
The news website recalled that "Biden has proudly described himself as a Zionist, and has gone on record to say that if Israel didn’t exist the United States would have to invent an Israel to advance its interests in the middle east."
Elsewhere, Consortium News pointed out that "the U.S. is currently pouring weapons into Israel on an almost daily basis, is pouring billions of dollars into Israel and is preparing to pour in billions more, and is currently physically assisting Israeli operations in Gaza with drones and special operations forces while U.S. warships swarm the eastern Mediterranean."
On Tuesday, Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there will be no ceasefire, entry of workers from Gaza, or the passage of fuel into the Strip unless captives are released.
This comes as the Health Ministry in Gaza announced that the number of Palestinians killed in the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip had reached 10,328, including more than 4,200 children.
Washington acknowledged on Monday there had been "thousands" of civilian casualties in Gaza after President Joe Biden previously called into question the validity of numbers published by the Health Ministry in Gaza.
"As it relates to civilian casualties in Gaza... we know the numbers are in the thousands," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.
The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted that an average of 160 children are killed each day in Gaza as a result of the Israeli aggression.
"The level of death and suffering is hard to fathom," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a statement that the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip had deprived people there of food, water and medicine, and warned that the "sparse aid" trickling in was not able to provide people with the essentials to survive.
Read more: Biden tells Netanyahu fighting pause could help release some captives