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Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, held meetings on Sunday with leaders in Jordan and Qatar aimed at reducing the risk that the war in Gaza could spread in the region. Mr. Blinken met separately in Amman with King Abdullah II and Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, where he thanked the king for Jordan’s role in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the two agreed to keep coordinating on aid. The U.S. has been pressing Israel for months to allow more aid into Gaza. In his meeting with the king, Mr. Blinken also reiterated that the U.S. was against moving Palestinians out of Gaza. Then Mr. Blinken flew into Doha, Qatar and met with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and with the prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, who also acts as the foreign minister. The officials spoke about possibilities for trying to get Hamas to release more hostages and for ensuring the conflict does not spread across the region.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/world/middleeast/blinken-middle-east-israel-hamas-war.html