King Abdullah II Reminds Israel Not To Expand War In Gaza, Jordanian PM: All Options Available

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh. (Wikimedia Commons/Wikimedia Commons/You can help me with it.

JAKARTA - Jordan said it was open to all options, to deal with Israel's failure to distinguish between military and civilian targets, as bombings and invasions of the Gaza Strip escalate, with the country's leaders warning that the war would not be expanded.

Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al Khasawneh did not specify what steps Jordan would take, days after the country withdrew its ambassador from Israel, in protest at the country's attack on Gaza following a cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7.

"All options are available to Jordan in the face of Israeli aggression in Gaza and its impact," Prime Minister Khasawneh said.

PM Khasawneh said the total blockade of Israel in densely populated Gaza was not an attempt to defend themselves as they said.

"Israel's brutal attack did not discriminate between civilian and military targets, extending to safe areas and ambulances," he explained.

Meanwhile, Jordanian King Abdullah II on Monday warned Israel not to expand the war in Gaza, as quoted by Anadolu.

He conveyed this in Brussels, Belgium, when he met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, according to the Kingdom of Jordan.

"Everyone bears the consequences, because there is no political solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict," said King Abdullah II.

He also called for efforts to immediately carry out a ceasefire in Gaza and protect civilians.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said any action that forced Palestinians to cross into Jordan, which borders the West Bank, was the same red line as the declaration of war.

"We will face any attempt to expel Palestinians as Israel's attempt to change geography and demographics," said Foreign Minister Safadi last week.

Separately, Israel denies deliberately targeting civilian targets in densely populated areas, saying the Hamas militant group used civilians as human shields, dug tunnels under hospitals and used ambulances to transport its fighters.

In a statement, Israel's Foreign Ministry said "his country's relations with Jordan have a strategic interest in both countries and we regret the statements inciting Jordan's leadership."

It is known that about 1,400 people were killed and 240 others detained as hostages, following the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on 7 October.

It made Israel carry out a total bombing and blockade of the Gaza Strip. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza Ashraf Al Qudra said 10,022 Palestinians in the enclave were killed in Israeli attacks, including 4,104 children, 2,641 women and 611 elderly people, quoted by CNN.

These figures show about three-quarters of the death toll comes from vulnerable populations. The ministry also reported 25,408 others injured.