Amman [Jordan], March 18: King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday warned of the "tragic" humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip at a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Jordanian royal court said.
At their talks held at Jordan's port city of Aqaba, the monarch underlined the importance of intensified efforts to protect civilians and provide "adequate and sustainable" aid to people in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
The king "stressed the necessity of the international community to reach an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the strip," the court added in a statement. It said both sides warned that a potential Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah would worsen the humanitarian crisis in the strip.
More than 1 million Palestinians have taken refuge in Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the strip, The Jordanian king called for standing firm against what he called extremist settlers' violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and violations against Islamic and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. Jordan is the official custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
The large number of civilian casualties that could result from an Israeli assault on Rafah would make regional peace "very difficult", German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
"[A long-lasting ceasefire] would enable us to prevent such a ground offensive from taking place," he said.
Asked if he was prepared to exert pressure on Netanyahu to stop such an assault, Scholz said it was "very clear we must do everything so the situation does not get worse than it already is".
"Israel has every right to protect itself. At the same time, it cannot be that those in Gaza who fled to Rafah are directly threatened by whatever military actions and operations are undertaken there," he said.
Source: Qatar Tribune