Blinken rejects ceasefire calls during meeting in Amman

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has rejected calls for a ceasefire during a meeting with his Arab counterparts in Amman. 

He said that a truce would leave Hamas in a position to regroup and carry out similar attacks to the one on 7 October, which killed around 1,400 Israelis. 

Blinken said that the US believed humanitarian pauses can be a "critical mechanism for protecting civilians", as well as for getting aid into Gaza and foreign nationals out of the enclave.

The comments were made at a news conference alongside the Jordanian and Egyptian foreign ministers, who have both repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire. 

According to Blinken, Washington and Arab states believe that a status-quo in which Hamas controls the Gaza Strip could not continue. 

He added that the US was deeply concerned about "extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank", which he said had worsened since 7 October.