Amman, 7 January 2024 (dpa/MIA) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Amman on Sunday and met Jordanian King Abdullah II, who warned against “catastrophic repercussions” of an ongoing Israeli campaign in the Gaza Strip.

According to a royal court statement, the Jordanian monarch stressed the need to put an end to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the densely populated enclave.

He also “renewed an emphasis on the importance of the US role in pressuring for a ceasefire in Gaza, protecting civilians and guaranteeing delivery of relief and humanitarian aid to the Strip in an adequate and sustainable way.”

Blinken’s talks in Jordan were part of a current trip to the Middle East aimed at reducing tensions in the region amid a raging war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement.

After stopping off in Crete in Greece on Saturday, Blinken flew to the Jordanian capital at the start of on an extended tour of the Middle East, his fourth to the region in four months.

He is also to visit Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia as well as Israel, the West Bank and Egypt, according to his office.

He had previously met Turkish President President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul.

During the trip, Blinken is seeking to discuss concrete steps on how actors in the region could use their influence to avoid an escalation of the Gaza war, his office said.

Washington also wants to ensure increased humanitarian aid enters Gaza and that Hamas militants free the remaining hostages they hold.

The US is seeking to avoid the conflict, which erupted following the October 7 attacks mounted by Hamas from the Gaza Strip, from spreading throughout the region, amid increasing cross-border attacks on the Lebanese-Israeli border and an Iran-allied militia's attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.