Amman: Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken Wednesday discussed, in a phone call, efforts to realise a ceasefire in Gaza and start negotiations to exchange detainees and allow aid into the embattled enclave. Safadi stressed the "need" to reach an immediate and permanent ceasefire, stop the war and open crossings to bring in enough aid to confront the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Strip. Safadi and Blinken agreed that the amount of aid arriving in Gaza does not meet the minimum needs of the Strip, and they agreed on the necessity of taking immediate and effective steps to deliver sufficient aid and ensure its access to all parts of Gaza. Safadi and Blinken discussed developments in the ongoing negotiations to reach a prisoner and detainee exchange deal and a humanitarian truce that would lead to a permanent ceasefire with American, Egyptian and Qatari mediation. The top diplomats discussed the situation in occupied Jerusalem and stressed the "need" to avoid escalati on, especially at the beginning of Ramadan. Safadi stressed the need for Israel to lift the restrictions on freedom of worship and the access of worshipers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to prevent raids on holy sites. Safadi and Blinken agreed to continue coordination to prevent escalation in the holy sites and guarantee the right of worshipers to practice their religious rituals. Source: Jordan News Agency
