US tells Arab world, who’s boss of Middle East; ‘Gaza status quo cannot continue’
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in the Middle East on saturday
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, November 4: On a day when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held parleys with his Arabian counterparts on roadmap to “day after Hamas” in Gaza, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in the Middle East along with a fleet of missile destroyers after transiting Suez Canal to enter the Red Sea. Israeli warships are already in the waters of the Red Sea to keep a watch on potential mischief by the foes.
At a joint presser with his Arabian hosts, Blinken asserted that the US and the Arab states concur that “the status quo of a Hamas-controlled Gaza cannot continue”. His remarks assumed significance amid the Israeli soldiers intensifying fights with the Hamas in the Gaza Strip even at a cost of higher casualty than the 2014 war with the rulers of the land parcel. Israeli chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi visited troops inside the Gaza Strip, said an Israeli military spokesperson on Saturday. Halevi’s visit to troops in Gaza was his first since the war with the Hamas began four weeks ago after the October 7 attacks.
“Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday took part in an Arab-US meeting on Gaza held in the Jordanian capital, Amman. The meeting discussed the Arab position, which calls for an immediate cessation of military operations that have led to the loss of innocent lives, and urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” Arab News quoted the ministry of foreign affairs of Saudi Arabia’s statement after the meeting.
The news outlet further reported that the “meeting also discussed efforts to create a stable environment and restore the path to peace, ensuring that the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights and the achievement of a just and lasting peace.”
Yet, there were different views on Israel’s bombing of Gaza at a higher civilian cost as the Arab states registered their protests in the presence of Blinken. “A rare public discord between Blinken vs Jordanian FM Safadi and Egyptian FM Shoukry at presser. Blinken says a ceasefire now would only allow Hamas to regroup, but gets strong pushback from his Arab counterparts,” Hümeyra Pamuk, Reuter’s foreign affairs reporter, posted on X, while mentioning the common posture of the Arab states — “How can we justify that killing 9,000 people is self-defense?”
But the Arab states appear to have been eating out of the hands of the US as they seemingly toned down rhetoric in contrast to public assertions of Turkey and Iran as the day also marked the arrival of the naval warships of the US in the waters of the Red Sea. “The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKECSG) arrived in the Middle East and the CENTCOM area of responsibility as part of the increase in regional posture,” the US Central Command posted on X.
It stated that the “strike group is commanded by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2 and comprised of flagship aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), guided-missile destroyers USS Mason (DDG 87) and USS Gravely (DDG 107) of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 22, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 with its nine squadrons, and the Information Warfare Commander”.
The developments came amid thousands of people gathering in Tel Aviv to show their support for the families of the abducted demanding Netanyahu’s government to bring them back, reported Daily News Egypt.
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