US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken continues his extensive tour in the Middle East on Sunday in Jordan, calling for avoiding the expansion of the scope of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Blinken arrived in Amman last night after two stops in Türkiye and Greece. On Sunday, he is scheduled to hold talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and visit one of the World Food Program centers in the capital, according to what an official in the delegation accompanying him confirmed.

“We must ensure that the conflict does not expand” from the Gaza Strip, where the war has entered its fourth month, Blinken said on Saturday evening, at Chania Airport on the Greek island of Crete.

He added, "One of the real fears is the border between Israel and Lebanon, and we want to do everything possible to ensure that the situation does not escalate."

Since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged daily bombing across the border. Fears of escalating tension on this front increased after Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), was martyred in an air strike attributed to Israel in the southern suburb of Beirut last Tuesday.

Yesterday, Saturday, the party announced the launch of more than 60 missiles towards an “air control base” in northern Israel, placing this within the framework of the “initial response” to Al-Arouri’s assassination. Israel, in turn, launched a series of raids on areas in southern Lebanon.

Ensure that the conflict does not expand

Blinken noted, “Many of the conversations we will have over the coming days with all of our allies and partners will revolve around actions they can take using their influence and relationships to ensure that this conflict does not expand.”

The Israeli aggression on Gaza, which entered its fourth month on Sunday, raises fears of its escalation with increasing violence not only on the Israeli-Lebanese border, but also in Iraq, Syria and the Red Sea.

The Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, accompanied by a ground attack launched on October 27, led to the death of more than 22,700 people, the majority of whom were women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Blinken stressed "the necessity of preventing the expansion of the conflict, increasing humanitarian aid, reducing civilian casualties, working for a lasting regional peace, and progressing toward the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Blinken arrived in Istanbul on Friday evening as part of a regional tour to discuss ways to avoid the expansion of the conflict in the region after 3 months of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and to push for the introduction of additional aid to the Gaza Strip.

Bloomberg News quoted a senior American official accompanying Blinken on his trip as saying that Washington is seeking to mobilize Ankara’s support for plans to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.

Perceptions of the next day

The same source added that Blinken will convey a message to the region that Washington will respond to attacks targeting its interests, adding that America expects the Arab partners to convey the message that Blinken carries to Iran.

It is expected that perceptions of the “day after” the end of the war in the Gaza Strip, including the reconstruction and management of the Strip, will be at the heart of the talks that Blinken will hold with Arab leaders, who stress that the priority is a permanent ceasefire.

After Jordan, Blinken will head to Qatar, which played the role of mediator in the truce between Israel and Hamas late last November, which allowed the release of hostages from Gaza in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Blinken will conclude his day in Abu Dhabi before heading to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, Monday, then to Israel, where he is expected to hold talks that he stressed “will not be easy.”