WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, reaffirming Washington's support for a “two-state solution” in the region and asking the two to “restore calm.”
Blinken spoke by telephone with both leaders to reaffirm US commitment to “a negotiated two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
“The Secretary underscored the urgent need for Israelis and Palestinians to take steps that restore calm and our strong opposition to unilateral measures that would further escalate tensions.”
That message followed a decision by Israel’s new hard-right government to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank — a move that drew nearly unanimous criticism among major powers including the United States.
The White House said Thursday it was “deeply dismayed” by the Israeli decision, but it nevertheless voiced opposition to a proposed UN Security Council resolution to demand Israel end settlements in the occupied territories.
Blinken met with Abbas late last month in the West Bank at the end of an intense series of diplomatic meetings planned before the latest flare-up of violence.
In their phone call, the two “discussed efforts to improve the quality of life of the Palestinian people and enhance their security and freedom,” Price said in a statement.
Blinken and Netanyahu spoke about broader regional challenges, Price said, “including the threats posed by Iran,” and Blinken underscored the United States’ “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.”
Last year was the deadliest year in the West Bank since the United Nations started tracking casualties there in 2005, and the deadly violence has continued this year.
Blinken exhorts Israeli, Palestinian leaders to ‘restore calm’
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Blinken exhorts Israeli, Palestinian leaders to ‘restore calm’

- Blinken's called the two leaders following a decision by Israel’s new hard-right government to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank
Jordan welcomes EU’s approved €500m financial aid package

- European Parliament approved the aid package with 571 votes during a plenary session in Strasbourg
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the EU for its support, which enhances cooperation between Amman and Brussels
LONDON: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the EU’s decision to allocate a €500 million ($541 million) financial aid package to the Hashemite Kingdom on Wednesday.
During a plenary session in Strasbourg, the European Parliament approved an aid package for Jordan with 571 votes as part of a macro-financial assistance initiative.
Sufian Qudah, the ministry’s spokesperson, announced that the European Commission plans to propose an extra €500 million for Jordan, increasing the total funding under the MFA initiative to €1 billion for 2025–2027.
Qudah thanked the EU for its support, which enhances cooperation between Amman and Brussels and acknowledges Jordan’s role in regional peace and stability, the Petra news agency reported.
In January, King Abdullah II of Jordan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in Brussels.
The agreement includes a €1 billion financial aid package and a €3 billion aid package for Jordan for 2025–2027, which comprises €1.4 billion for investment support and €640 million in grants, Petra added.
Suspected US airstrikes in Yemen kill at least 4 people near Hodeida, Houthi militants say

- The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis
- “Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said
DUBAI: Suspected US airstrikes battered militant-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the Houthis saying that one strike killed at least four people near the Red Sea port city of Hodeida.
Meanwhile, satellite images taken Wednesday and analyzed by The Associated Press show at least six stealth B-2 Spirit bombers now stationed at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean — a highly unusual deployment amid the Yemen campaign and tensions with Iran.
The intense campaign of airstrikes in Yemen under US President Donald Trump, targeting the militants over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis.
The campaign appears to show no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked their airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at more than 200.
“Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks, and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders,” Leavitt said. “They’ve taken out critical members who were launching strikes on naval ships and on commercial vessels and this operation will not stop until the freedom of navigation in this region is restored.”
The Houthis haven’t acknowledged the loss of any of its leadership so far — and the US hasn’t identified any official by name. However, messages released by the leak of a Signal conversation between Trump administration officials and their public comments suggest a leader in the militants’ missile forces had been targeted.
Fatal strike reportedly targets Hodeida
Overnight, a likely US airstrike targeted what the Houthis described as a “water project” in Hodeida governorate’s Mansuriyah District, killing four people and wounding others. Other strikes into Wednesday targeted Hajjah, Saada and Sanaa governorates, the militants said.
The militants say they’ve continued to launch attacks against US warships in the Red Sea, namely the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which is carrying out the majority of the strikes on the Houthis. No warship has been struck yet, but the US Navy has described the Houthi fire as the most intense combat its sailors have faced since World War II.
The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, now in Asia, is on its way to the Middle East to back up the Truman. Early Wednesday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said that “additional squadrons and other air assets” would be deployed to the region, without elaborating.
More B-2s seen at Diego Garcia
That likely includes the deployment of nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to Camp Thunder Bay on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Satellite photos taken Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP showed at least six B-2s at the base.
The deployment represents nearly a third of all the B-2 bombers in Washington’s arsenal. It’s also highly unusual to see that many at one base abroad. Typically, so-called show of force missions involving the B-2 have seen two or three of the aircraft conduct operations in foreign territory.
The nuclear-capable B-2, which first saw action in 1999 in the Kosovo War, is rarely used by the US military in combat, because each aircraft is worth around $1 billion. It has dropped bombs in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya as well. The bombers are based at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri and typically conduct long-range strikes from there.
The US has used the B-2 in Yemen last year to attack underground Houthi bases. The B-2 likely would need to be used if Washington ever tried to target Iran’s underground nuclear sites as well.
The Houthis on Tuesday said that they shot down another American MQ-9 drone over the country.
Intense US bombings began on March 15
An AP review has found the new American operation against the Houthis under Trump appears more extensive than those under former US President Joe Biden, as Washington moves from solely targeting launch sites to firing at ranking personnel and dropping bombs on cities.
The new campaign of airstrikes started after the militants threatened to begin targeting “Israeli” ships again over Israel blocking aid entering the Gaza Strip. The militants have loosely defined what constitutes an Israeli ship, meaning many vessels could be targeted.
The Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships without success.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decadelong stalemated war, which has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Orban in Hungary, defying international arrest warrant

- The ICC, the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide, issued the arrest warrant in November for Netanyahu
- The ICC has criticized Hungary’s decision to defy its warrant for Netanyahu
BUDAPEST: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in Hungary’s capital on Wednesday to meet with the country’s nationalist prime minister despite an international arrest warrant for the Israeli leader over the war in the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu’s four-day visit to Budapest is a sign of both his close relationship with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the latter’s growing hostility toward international institutions, like the International Criminal Court, of which his country is a member.
Orbán, a conservative populist and close Netanyahu ally, has vowed to disregard the ICC warrant against the Israeli leader, accusing the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, Netherlands, of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes.”
Members of Orbán’s government have suggested that Hungary, which became a signatory to the court in 2001, could withdraw. Currently, all countries in the 27-member European Union, including Hungary, are signatories, and all members of the court are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil.
The ICC, the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide, issued the arrest warrant in November for Netanyahu as well as for his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza after the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, have been killed during the Israeli military’s response.
The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid, and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges that Israeli officials deny.
The ICC has criticized Hungary’s decision to defy its warrant for Netanyahu. The court’s spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, said that it’s not for parties to the ICC “to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court’s legal decisions.”
Participating states have an obligation to enforce the court’s decisions, El Ebdallah told The Associated Press in an email, and may consult with the court if they disagree with its rulings.
“Any dispute concerning the judicial functions of the Court shall be settled by the decision of the Court,” El Abdallah said.
Orbán, who has been the EU’s most intransigent spoiler in the bloc’s decision-making, is seen as a pioneer of some of the same tactics that Netanyahu has been accused of employing in Israel: subjugation of the judiciary, antagonism toward the European Union and cracking down on civil society and human rights groups.
Longtime allies and fellow practitioners of “illiberal” governance — a term adopted by Orbán that denotes a rejection of the tenets of liberal democracy — the two leaders are also allied with US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in February imposing sanctions on the ICC over its investigations of Israel.
Orbán’s government has said that Trump’s return to the White House has enabled it to take measures it was unable to during the administration of former US President Joe Biden — such as passing legislation to ban LGBTQ+ Pride events in Hungary.
Erika Guevara-Rosas, the head of Global Research, Advocacy and Policy of human rights group Amnesty International, said in a statement that Hungary “must arrest (Netanyahu) if he travels to the country and hand him over to the Court.”
“Hungary’s invitation shows contempt for international law and confirms that alleged war criminals wanted by the ICC are welcome on the streets of a European Union member state,” Guevara-Rosas said.
Liz Evenson, international justice director at rights group Human Rights Watch, said that Hungary allowing Netanyahu’s visit was a breach of Hungary’s ICC obligations, and “would be Orban’s latest assault on the rule of law, adding to the country’s dismal record on rights.”
“All ICC member countries need to make clear they expect Hungary to abide by its obligations to the court, and that they will do the same,” Evenson said.
In March 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. Putin visited Mongolia, which is also a member of the ICC, in September last year, but he wasn’t arrested. Last year, judges found that the country failed to uphold its legal obligations and referred the matter to the court’s oversight body.
Far-right Israeli minister visits Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound: spokesperson

- The Saudi Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Gvir's visit
- The Jordanian Foreign Ministry condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation“
- Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people“
JERUSALEM: Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday, his spokesperson said, prompting strong condemnation from Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Palestinian militants Hamas.
The firebrand politician was visiting the site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, in occupied east Jerusalem after returning to the Israeli government last month following the resumption of the war against Hamas in Gaza.
Ben Gvir had quit the cabinet in January in protest at the ceasefire agreement in the Palestinian territory.
Since the formation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at the end of 2022, Ben Gvir has made several trips to the Al-Aqsa compound, each time triggering international outcry.
In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Gvir's visit of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry also condemned Wednesday’s visit as a “storming” and “an unacceptable provocation.”
Hamas called it a “provocative and dangerous escalation,” saying the visit was “part of the ongoing genocide against our Palestinian people.”
“We call on our Palestinian people and our youth in the West Bank to escalate their confrontation... in defense of our land and our sanctities, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” it said in a statement.
The site is Islam’s third-holiest and a symbol of Palestinian national identity.
Known to Jews as the Temple Mount, it is also Judaism’s holiest place, revered as the site of the second temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
Under the status quo maintained by Israel, which has occupied east Jerusalem and its Old City since 1967, Jews and other non-Muslims are allowed to visit the compound during specified hours, but they are not permitted to pray there or display religious symbols.
Ben Gvir’s spokesperson told AFP the minister “went there because the site was opened (for non-Muslims) after 13 days,” during which access was reserved for Muslims for the festival of Eid Al-Fitr and the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In recent years, growing numbers of Jewish ultranationalists have defied the rules, including Ben Gvir, who publicly prayed there in 2023 and 2024.
The Israeli government has said repeatedly that it intends to uphold the status quo at the compound but Palestinian fears about its future have made it a flashpoint for violence.
Hunger returns to Gaza as Israeli blockade forces bakeries shut

- UN agency: All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour
- International charities working in Gaza warn that its 2.4 million people cannot endure more shortages
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: At an industrial bakery in war-ravaged Gaza City, a conveyor belt that once churned out thousands of pitta breads every day has come to a standstill.
The Families Bakery is one of about two dozen supported by the World Food Programme (WFP) that have halted production in recent days due to flour and fuel shortages resulting from an Israeli blockade.
“All 25 WFP-supported bakeries in Gaza have shut down due to lack of fuel and flour,” the UN agency said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that it would “distribute its last food parcels in the next two days.”
Abed Al-Ajrami, chairman of the Bakery Owners Association in Gaza and owner of the Families Bakery, said that the WFP was the only sponsor of Gaza bakeries and provided them with “all their needs.”
“The repercussions from the closure of the bakeries will be very hard on citizens because they have no alternative to resort to,” he said.
Speaking in front of a large industrial oven that had not been fired up, he said that bakeries were central to the UN agency’s food distribution program, which delivered the bread to refugee camps across Gaza.
Despite a six-week truce that allowed displaced Gazans to return to what remained of their homes, negotiations for a lasting end to the fighting have stalled.
On March 2, Israel imposed a full blockade on the Palestinian territory, and cut off power to Gaza’s main water desalination plant.
On March 18, Israel resumed its strikes on Gaza. Days later, Hamas again began firing rockets at Israel.
The Palestinian militant group has accused Israel of using starvation as “a direct weapon in this brutal war,” pointing to the bakeries’ closure as an example.
It called on Arab and Muslim countries to “act urgently to save Gaza from famine and destruction.”
Residents of Gaza City were wary of the future.
“I got up in the morning to buy bread for my children but I found all the bakeries closed,” Mahmud Khalil said.
Fellow resident Amina Al-Sayed echoed his comments.
“I’ve been going from bakery to bakery all morning, but none of them are operating, they’re all closed,” she said, adding that she feared the threat of famine would soon stalk Gaza once again.
“The price of flour has risen... and we can’t afford it. We’re afraid of reliving the famine that we experienced in the south” of the territory.
International charities working in Gaza warn that its 2.4 million people cannot endure more shortages after many of them were displaced multiple times during the devastating military campaign Israel launched in response to Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
Those who took advantage of the six-week truce to return to bombed out homes have been “arriving in utter destitution,” said Gavin Kelleher of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
“We’ve been set up to fail as a humanitarian response. We’re not allowed to bring in supplies, we’re not able to meet needs,” he lamented.
Alexandra Saieh, of British charity Save The Children, echoed Kelleher’s remarks.
“When Save The Children does distribute food in Gaza, we see massive crowds because every single person in Gaza is relying on aid,” she said.
“That lifeline has been cut.”